Gardaí to be allowed to attend some court sittings remotely, Minister says

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

New legislation will allow gardaí to attend routine court hearings remotely, the Minister for Justice has said.

Jim O’Callaghan said he wanted to bring forward legislation for procedures in District Courts that would mean gardaí do not have to physically attend the sitting.

He said he would like to see a change in the law so “we don’t tie up gardaí in courtrooms or in court buildings throughout the day”.

The changes would allow gardaí to make applications around bail warrants and other issues remotely.

Mr O’Callaghan said it would help get “more gardaí out on the streets” rather than being “stuck around district courts throughout the country”.

He added: “It’s going to save time. It’s going to get them out in the street.”

He told reporters on Friday that gardaí are “essential witnesses” in court cases but added that there are “very many uncontested and routine applications” that happen before a trial which should be heard remotely.

“We don’t need to have a garda turning up in court to hear them.

“Separately, there’s also a lot of documents that we could use digitally and as opposed to a garda having to turn up with physical bench warrants and issues like that – that’s something that we could use digitalisation to improve.

“It’s also the case that if somebody has breached their bail warrants or the terms of their bail conditions, that the garda has to go back into the District Court generally to try and get the terms amended so he can get a bench warrant for the arrest of the person. That’s something that also should be done remotely.”

Mr O’Callaghan said his department was working on the legislation and added that he could not give a more specific timeline other than that it would be completed within his term.