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The director of the Public Ministry has said that there has been an 87% increase so far this year in the number of files submitted to her office related to domestic violence or non-compliance with a court order.
Speaking at the Annual Conference of National Attorneys, Claire Loftus said she welcomed the priority the court system places on these cases.
In 2019, the DPP office received a total of 464 files related to domestic violence or failure to comply with a court order, and by the end of last month, the office had received 684 such files.
While this is the area with the largest increase, the number of files submitted for a decision on prosecution in all areas increased by 22% from last year, an increase that the DPP has called remarkable.
He said a new work area has emerged directly as a result of the pandemic.
His office has received 447 files related to violations of Covid-19 regulations and has led prosecution in 262 cases involving 401 suspects.
Ms. Loftus welcomed the efforts made by the Courts Service to keep the business of criminal cases going, but said that despite this, there is a significant backlog that will continue to grow until the pandemic is over.
She is calling for a preliminary hearing system to make the system more efficient and has welcomed the commitment of the Minister of Justice to legislate on this.
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