The Courts Service

The Courts Service was established on the 9th November 1999 following the enactment of the Courts Service Act 1998.  Its functions are as follows:

• to manage the Courts.

• to provide support services for the judiciary.

• to provide information on the courts system to the public.

• to provide, manage and maintain court buildings.

• to provide facilities for users of the courts.

• to perform such other functions as are conferred on it by any other enactment.

The Courts Service employs 1,100 people in 42 locations across the country.  There are 168 judges and 110 court rooms.  The annual budget in 2020 is €156m and a payroll budget is €58m.

The Courts Service Modernisation Programme

A long-term strategic vision for the future of the Courts Service has been developed.  This vision maps out our future as a modern, digital Courts Service with services re-designed to meet the needs of court users optimally. Our Strategic Vision 2030 aims to make access to justice easier, quicker and more cost effective.

We are currently in the Transition Phase of the Modernisation Programme, which is focused on establishing the foundations for modernisation - building capability and capacity, establishing modern technology platforms, developing organisational strategies and ICT frameworks, and piloting new user-centric models.

Our people are at the centre of this transformation, and we aim to be a workplace where everyone can thrive and where people want to invest their careers to realise personal and organisational goals.