{"id":25001,"date":"2024-09-04T12:19:55","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T11:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dppireland.ie\/?p=25001"},"modified":"2025-02-11T11:00:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T11:00:15","slug":"annual-report-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dppireland.ie\/ga\/annual-report-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Tuarasc\u00e1il Bhliant\u00fail 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>N\u00d3TA:\u00a0\u00a0<strong><em>T\u00e1 an ch\u00e1ip\u00e9is seo \u00e1 haistri\u00fa go Gaeilge i l\u00e1thair na huaire agus beidh s\u00ed ar fail go luath.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions publishes Annual Report 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ms. Catherine Pierse, is pleased to announce the publication of her Office\u2019s Annual Report for 2023.\u00a0 This comprehensive report provides an in-depth overview of the activities, achievements, and challenges faced by the Office over the past year.<\/p>\n<p>The Annual Report 2023 highlights key statistics and legal developments that have shaped the year, offering transparency and insight into the prosecution process in Ireland. It also outlines the strategic initiatives undertaken to achieve our mission of<em> delivering a fair, independent and effective prosecution service on behalf of all the people of Ireland.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Key highlights of the 2023 Annual Report include: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dppireland.ie\/app\/uploads\/2024\/09\/AR-2023-eng-1.pdf#page=21\"><strong>Case Statistics<\/strong><\/a>: Detailed breakdown of prosecution files received; decisions made; outcomes of cases prosecuted on indictment; undue leniency appeals and more.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dppireland.ie\/app\/uploads\/2024\/09\/AR-2023-eng-1.pdf#page=37\"><strong>Increased Central Criminal Court Activity<\/strong><\/a>: New data has been provided in this year\u2019s Report highlighting the increased level of activity in the Central Criminal Court \u2013 the court that deals predominantly with the offences of rape and murder \u2013 including a dramatic increase in the number of Central Criminal Court cases being heard outside of Dublin.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dppireland.ie\/app\/uploads\/2024\/09\/AR-2023-eng-1.pdf#page=12\"><strong>Strategic Initiatives<\/strong><\/a>: Overview of projects aimed at improving the prosecution service including: facilitation of training programmes to our stakeholders; participation in the delivery of key cross-sectoral projects; collaboration with victims\u2019 organisations; and increasing public awareness and understanding of our Office.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dppireland.ie\/app\/uploads\/2024\/09\/AR-2023-eng-1.pdf#page=50\"><strong>Significant Legal Developments<\/strong><\/a>: Summaries of court decisions during 2023 which are important, interesting, or have precedent value for prosecution work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dppireland.ie\/app\/uploads\/2024\/09\/AR-2023-eng-1.pdf#page=5\">Foreword<\/a>, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Catherine Pierse, highlights two key challenges that were very much to the fore in 2023 and will require sustained attention:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>\u2026the challenge of ensuring that delays in the criminal justice system are minimised and that the prosecution service can respond to the sharp increase in court activity that was evident in 2023\u201d <\/em>and \u201c\u2026<em>the continuing challenge of dealing with an ever increasing volume of digital data in almost all categories of cases.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Commenting on the dramatic increase in Central Criminal Court activity in recent years due to additional judicial appointments, the Director noted:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>\u2026there has been a 66% increase in the number of trial dates listed in the Central Criminal Court over the past five years, as well as a significant increase in the number of Central Criminal Court cases being heard in venues outside of Dublin.\u00a0 In 2019, 127 court dates in the Central Criminal Court were held outside of Dublin.\u00a0 At the end of 2023 this figure had risen to 517, equating to a 407% increase in the 2019 to 2023 period.\u00a0 As a Dublin based Office, this has presented operational challenges and required significant additional effort and commitment by all involved including the staff of my Office as well as our prosecuting barristers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Director also noted that this situation is not limited to the Central Criminal Court, saying:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>There has also been a significant increase in Circuit Court activity country wide over the past five years.\u00a0 Sitting dates in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court increased by 24% from 2019 to 2023, and a State Solicitors workload review conducted in 2023 highlighted a substantial increase in activity in the Circuit Courts outside of Dublin also.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The full Annual Report 2023 for the Office of the DPP is now available to view\/download from our website, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dppireland.ie\">www.dppireland.ie<\/a> or by clicking on the following direct link &gt;&gt; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dppireland.ie\/app\/uploads\/2024\/09\/AR-2023-eng-1.pdf\">Annual Report 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For media enquiries, please contact Orlagh Flood, Head of Governance &amp; Public Affairs, by email <a href=\"mailto:media.liaision@dppireland.ie\">media.liaision@dppireland.ie<\/a> or telephone: 01 858 8691.<\/p>\n<p>ENDS<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<\/p>\n<table style=\"height: 229px; width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: double; border-color: #37a6bf;\" border=\"5\" cellspacing=\"7\" cellpadding=\"7\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 229px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 100%; height: 229px;\"><strong>About the Office of the DPP:<\/strong> The Director of Public Prosecutions, Catherine Pierse, is independent in the performance of her functions.\u00a0 The duties of the Director are to:\n<ul>\n<li>enforce the criminal law in the courts on behalf of the people of Ireland;<\/li>\n<li>direct and supervise public prosecutions on indictment in the courts;<\/li>\n<li>give general direction and advice to An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na in relation to summary cases; and<\/li>\n<li>give specific direction to An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na in cases where requested.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dppireland.ie\/about-us\/\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a> to learn more about the work of the Office of the DPP.<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dppireland.ie\/publications\/information-for-the-public\/\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a> to access our suite of Plain English information booklets<\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>N\u00d3TA:\u00a0\u00a0T\u00e1 an ch\u00e1ip\u00e9is seo \u00e1 haistri\u00fa go Gaeilge i l\u00e1thair na huaire agus beidh s\u00ed ar fail go luath. Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions publishes Annual Report 2023 The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ms. Catherine Pierse, is pleased to announce the publication of her Office\u2019s Annual Report for 2023.\u00a0 This comprehensive report &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dppireland.ie\/ga\/annual-report-2023\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,103],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-na-meain","category-press-releases-ga"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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