Look again at disclosure policies, DPP urges
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has called for a re-examination of the policies and practices that underpin the current approach to disclosure in the criminal-justice system.
Writing in her office’s , Catherine Pierse said that the “relentless growth” in digital data – from mobile devices, social-media platforms, and CCTV footage – had continued in 2024.
“At present, the prosecution and investigators are tasked with reviewing extensive volumes of material to identify information that may be relevant to the defence, in the absence of any statutory obligation on the defence to engage in this process,” the director stated.
She called for “a sustained, collaborative effort” across the entire criminal-justice system to achieve meaningful and lasting improvements in data management and disclosure practices.
Pierse welcomed Supreme Court judgments in and DPP v AM, which she said had “significantly clarified” the disclosure responsibilities and obligations of all parties involved.
Increased regionalisation
The annual report shows that the office supported 2,185 trial dates listed in the Central Criminal Court last year – a 19% increase compared with 2023 and a 43% jump over the past three years.
During the year, 855 Central Criminal Court sitting days were listed outside Dublin – a 65% increase on the preceding year.
The DPP is seeking to open a regional office in Cork in 2026 in response to the increasing regionalisation of the court’s operations.
Vulnerable victims
Pierse said that increased supports for vulnerable victims since the enactment of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017 meant that the DPP’s office could now prosecute complaints from very vulnerable victims, “where ten years ago there would have been no reasonable prospect of a conviction”.
Where a decision is made not to prosecute, victims are now entitled to reasons for and review of that decision.
In 2024, the office received 571 requests for reasons and 219 requests for a review of a decision not to prosecute.
The report also shows a significant increase in the value of criminal assets frozen or confiscated, with the courts granting 208 confiscation and forfeiture orders worth more than €12 million – a 149% increase on the amount seized in 2023.
Drop in files handled
Overall, the office handled 16,593 files last year – a drop that it attributed to a new and more efficient District Court Appeals file-opening process.
The report shows that, of files disposed last year, prosecution in the District Court was decided in just under one-third of cases, prosecution in the higher courts in just over one-third of cases, with no prosecution in one-third of cases.
In more than three-quarters of non-prosecution decisions, insufficient evidence was the main factor.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the appointment of the first DPP, Eamonn Barnes, and the establishment of the office in January 1975.