The Fines Act, which introduced payment by instalment at post offices, has also resulted in a reduction of those being imprisoned for non-payment.

Courtroom technologies, such as digital audio recordings and video links, have generated significant cost savings. Increased data exchange with An Garda Siochana, through the Criminal Justice Interoperability Project has also increased productivity.

Waiting times down

Meanwhile the establishment of a second Special Criminal Court has meant a reduction in waiting times from two years to fifteen months. High Court waiting times have come down to six weeks.

The District Court heard 134,000 civil and 382,000 criminal matters while a full 60 per cent of orders related to driving offences.

There was a 15 per cent increase in personal injury cases heard in court last year, despite a parallel non-court process for such matters.

Retiring Chief Justice Susan Denham, in her last public engagement, revealed that she has asked the Presidents of each court, to draft new guidelines on the appropriate use of social media.

While acknowledging the benefits of the “communications revolution” of the last decade in the instant mass dissemination of information, the Chief Justice said that the fundamental right to a fair trial has not changed.

'Concerns over social media are widespread and real

“However, concerns over social media are widespread and real. There are genuine concerns over the dissemination of false claims – which damage social debate, learning, and understanding.  

“To date, it has been rare that courts in Ireland have had to use contempt of court laws to curb inaccurate and disruptive online communications about cases. But it would be naïve of us not to plan for the future in this regard.”

The annual report shows that the cost of interpretation services is down to €1 million from a high of €3 million, with the main languages involved being Polish, Romanian, Lithuanian, Russian and Latvian.

Bankrupts

Disqualifications of company directors saw a massive jump from two in 2015 to 47 in 2016. Meanwhile self-adjudicated bankrupts were up 17 per cent.

And the figures on application for dissolution of civil partnerships show that lesbian couples are less enduring. Of 61 Circuit Court applications to dissolve civil partnerships, 71 per cent were by females.