President Michael D Higgins has officially opened the new Court of Appeal building in the Four Courts.
The court, situated in the former public records building in the Four Courts complex, has been refurbished at a cost of €3 million.
The ten-judge court was established a year ago. President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice Sean Ryan said the court had achieved major success in dealing with criminal appeals.
He said the court was also committed to realising the hopes and expectations of the people when they established the new court and to making whatever changes are necessary.
He said the new court had inherited 660 cases from the court of criminal appeal and had taken on 287 new appeals up to last July.
280 have been disposed of and all cases ready for hearing are listed for hearing next term.
On the civil side he said the total number of civil appeals disposed of was 468. New civil appeals number 60 a month.
Judge Ryan said he and his colleagues had achieved a remarkable amount in a short space of time.
President Higgins paid tribute to the work of the court to date.
He said it inherited a significant workload from the Supreme Court and the initial priority was to reduce the backlog of criminal cases.
Inroads had also been made into reducing the waiting times for dealing with civil appeals, he said.
President Higgins said there were also plans to faciltate a second court to hear civil appeals which would make further progress in reducing waiting times.
He said the courts played a vital role in the function of the State.
He said the effectiveness and efficiency in the court system is also underscored by Ireland's obligations under a number of international agreements, including Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees citizens a right to a fair and speedy trial.
Chief Justice Ms Susan Denham said the occasion was a significant one for the people of Ireland who decided there should be a Court of Appeal.
She said it was an important day for all involved in the law. She said the new judges of the court had "done trojan work on this great project for the people of Ireland".
