The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has said there is a need to revisit the current approach to the disclosure of documents in criminal prosecutions to make sure the listing of criminal cases for trial is more efficient.
Catherine Pierse said the current system means that prosecution lawyers and investigators have to review vast amounts of material to identify if there is information that might be of relevance to the defence without any obligation on the defence to engage in this.
She said the proliferation of digital data in recent years had utterly transformed the nature and volume of material that the criminal justice system must engage with, and secure and efficient ways of engaging that data must be put in place.
Ms Pierse said she welcomed a Supreme Court judgment last year which clarified issues around the disclosure of counselling notes in sexual offence cases.
She said other records including social work, family law and mobile phone records could also contain deeply private information.
The DPP said the sooner the prosecution could clarify what was relevant and disclose it, the sooner defence lawyers could discuss with their clients whether they wanted to contest a charge or plead guilty.
She said this was key, given the resources that go into preparing for a trial and the anxiety caused to those waiting for trials to go on.
Ms Pierse said trial dates should only be set down where there was a genuine intention to contest a case, and where everyone in the process was working to ensure every trial listed could go ahead.
Ms Pierse was speaking at an event in Dublin to mark the 50th anniversary of the Office of the DPP.
The first director was appointed in 1975.
Ms Pierse, a solicitor, is the fourth person to hold the role.
This evening's event is being attended by the Taoiseach Mícheál Martin as well as the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, the Attorney General, Rossa Fanning, senior members of the judiciary, An Garda Síochána and the DPP’s office as well as other senior figures from across the criminal justice system.
Ms Pierse said the value of "independence" was at the core of the establishment of the DPP’s office.
Before 1975, decisions about prosecutions were taken by the Attorney General.
Ms Pierse said the purpose of the new office was to strengthen public confidence in the rule of law by ensuring there could be no political interference or perception of such interference in these decisions.
She said those who worked in the DPP’s office were deeply aware of the impact their decisions had on people’s lives.
She said victims could feel disbelieved and unheard if a decision was made not to prosecute.
A decision to go ahead with a prosecution could turn an accused person’s life upside down.
The decisions of the office could also affect the wider community’s confidence in the rule of law.
Ms Pierse pointed out that four lawyers were making such decisions when the office was first established.
The DPP’s office now has a staff of almost 300.
Ms Pierse said it was a precious thing to live in a society where there was widespread support for the rule of law, and she said those who work in the criminal justice system must continue to earn and maintain this public confidence.
She pointed to the changes that have happened in Irish society since 1975.
The growth of drug-related and cyber-enabled crime and the emergence of sophisticated organised crime gangs who operate transnationally.
Ms Pierse also said new bodies with criminal investigation powers had emerged and new investigative and forensic science techniques had been developed.
The director said there were also increased supports for vulnerable victims since 2017, meaning complaints could now be prosecuted where there would have been no reasonable prospect of a conviction ten years ago.
She said changes in society meant that there was now an awareness that instead of expecting vulnerable witnesses to adapt to the system, the system should adapt to their needs.
She said Ireland was now a society where no one doubted that it was possible for a person in authority to abuse a child, or for a respected member of society to be violent and dangerous at home, or for a successful business person to be involved in laundering money.
There was also a marked increase in the number of women working in the criminal justice system.
But she said there was a way to go in ensuring the system fully represented the diverse population it served.
Ms Pierse also said unnecessary delays in the system needed to be minimised, and resources needed to be coordinated so capacity in the system was used to its best effect.
