There was a 33% increase in the number of rape and sexual assault cases brought before the Central Criminal Court last year.
According to the Courts Service Annual Report, there was a 66% conviction rate in such cases, with the bulk of convictions resulting in sentences of between five and 12 years.
The Courts Service figures show a 6% reduction in the amount of new murder cases in the same period.
The High Court's workload rose by 20%, driven in part by a 350% increase in new personal injuries cases - with new divorce cases rising by a quarter.
Responding to the 350% increase in new personal injuries cases, the Minister For Justice Brian Lenihan denied that the Personal Injuries Assessment Board had failed.
He said last year's increase was from a very low base, adding that the Government had adopted amending legislation to close a particular loophole that has emerged in the PIAB legislation.
The PIAB also defended its effectiveness, attributing the figures to a realignment of people leaving the legal system to use the PIAB instead.
Chief executive, Patricia Byron, said that before the PIAB was set up, the High and Circuit courts dealt with 33,000 personal injuries cases a year. That figure fell to just 4,000 in 2005, the first year of the PIAB's existence, before rising to 10,000 last year as the two systems realigned, she said.
Further evidence of its success, she said, could be seen in the fact that the PIAB would make awards totalling €68m this year, compared to the €38m that the courts made last year.
Meanwhile at District Court level, the most dramatic rise in new cases was in the area of drug related offences, where there was a 25% increase on the 2005 figure.
2006 was another busy year for the Courts Service and its annual report highlights the redevelopment of court buildings, a reduction in waiting times and improvements in how victims of crime are treated.
