The Supreme Court is visiting Galway today, in what is its first time sitting outside the Four Courts in Dublin in over 80 years.
This morning, Mr Justice Frank Clarke and the other judges of the Supreme Court arrived at NUI Galway – marking the first time the court has left its home in Dublin since 1932.
Meanwhile, there has been a dramatic drop in the amount of time it takes for appeals to be heard, according to the Court’s inaugural annual report.
The report highlights a significant reduction in waiting times to have cases dealt with before both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.
It used to take over five years to have a case heard before the highest court in the land, but that has been shaved back to an average of one year at Supreme Court level and two years at Court of Appeal level.
Last year, the court accepted 157 applications to have cases heard and disposed of 128 appeals while delivering 91 reserved judgements.
The court will hear an appeal in NUI Galway’s Aula Maxima this morning.
Tomorrow, it is due to give judgement in businessman Denis O’Brien’s appeal against the dismissal of his High Court action in relation to statements made about his banking affairs in the Dáil four years ago.