Steady rise in drugs cases increasing workload in District Courts – report

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, Press Association

There has been an 8 per cent year-on-year increase in lesser drugs charges, according to figures from the courts service published on Monday.

There were 30,018 new drugs cases before the District Court last year, compared to 27,783 in 2024, according to the Court Service Annual Report 2025.

Chairperson of the board of the Courts Service, Judge Aileen Donnelly, said the rise in drugs cases of a less serious kind in the District Court had increased the workload of that jurisdiction.

She said changes in court case statistics more generally can indicate “changed attitudes and activity in society”, changes in legislation or a change to policing.

The courts service report also noted that road traffic offences saw a 22 per cent reduction over seven years.

Ms Donnelly said: “It might well reflect a change in attitudes amongst the driving public to road safety, and compliance with rules of the road, as increased awareness campaigns and enforcement have taken affect.”

Larceny, fraud and robbery cases saw a 13 per cent increase over two years – but a slight drop year on year.

The report also noted that public order and assault cases saw an increase of 11 per cent over two years, while new sexual offences increased by 13.6 per cent over two years.

Ms Donnelly said the increase in new sexual offences was “perhaps reflecting a greater level of reporting and follow-up of these crimes”.

Of the 444 sentences handed down for rape, including attempted rape, 58 per cent were handed down sentences of 10 years or more.

There were 379,262 new criminal matters presented to the courts last year compared to the 390,158 new cases in 2024.

Last year, 337,416 criminal matters were resolved, compared to 356,045 in 2024.

There was an increase in the number of serious crime cases over three years, at 21,571 last year, 22,822 in 2024, and 19,569 in 2023.

Public order and assault cases totalled 48,537 last year, up from 47,956 in 2024, and 43,750 new cases in 2023.

Road traffic offences accounted for 175,328 new cases in 2025, down from 185,578 in 2024, and down from 226,000 in 2019.

Juveniles before the District Court faced charges in relation to 574 drugs matters, 1,070 larcenies, 651 public order matters and 853 road traffic matters.

Juveniles charges relating to public order fell 14 per cent year-on-year, and those relating to road traffic matters fell by 18.6 per cent.

Applications for extradition increased by 30 per cent to 344 last year, up from 265 in 2024.

New planning and environment cases numbered 205 last year, down from 241 new cases in 2024, but up from 108 in 2023.

There were 5,047 divorce cases applied for last year, up slightly on 5,004 cases in 2024, but down on 2023 and 2022.

The courts service report also notes that how AI could be used was tested, with “mixed” results.

“In 2025, we carried out a series of tests to assess the potential use of AI. These focused on transcription, translation, on a knowledge-base query support, and document review.

“The results were mixed. In many cases, AI did not provide information that was sufficiently accurate or complete for reliable use. This confirmed the need for human oversight in all uses of AI.”

It added: “We also introduced a secure, enterprise AI chat tool for our people to support routine
administrative work.

“We provided training on its use, including the benefits and risks. We will continue to assess opportunities to use AI, in line with our governance framework, as the technology develops.”

IT also noted that it has launched the first Courts Service Irish Language Strategy 2025–2028, and noted that its in-house training programme for supporting court registrars in understanding the language began in September.