An Ennis Circuit Court judge has criticised the government for failing to appoint enough judges.
Judge Gerald Keys said additional resources were required for the courts after he was asked to hear a case in which a 17 year old is charged with the sexual assault of a young boy before the court’s summer break.
The accused in the case is a 17 year West Clare male youth who is charged with the sexual assault of a then four year old boy on dates in 2014.
Those convicted of the charge could face five years in jail.
Given the young ages of both the accused and the complainant, solicitor for the State Aisling Casey told the court there is an anxiety that the case be heard before the Summer legal break.
However, her request on behalf of the DPP, against the background of a growing case list, prompted Judge Gerald Keys to lash out at the Government over its failure to appoint new judges.
He said: ““We have far too few judges to provide a proper efficient system.”
He went onto say that “it is not an excuse for the State to say ‘sorry, we don’t have enough judges’. The solution to that is ‘give us more judges and give us more resources. Full stop.’”
After Ms. Casey said the case may have to be transferred to Dublin, Judge Keys said that he would do everything to try to facilitate the case in Clare but said his “hands are tied.”
