A shortage of stenographers in the courts is leading to delays in transcripts of criminal trials. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr James Hamilton, issued a statement yesterday on his application for an adjournment in the case of Ms Nora Wall and Mr Paul McCabe. Last June they successfully appealed against conviction for raping a 10-year-old girl.
When the issue of a retrial came up for mention last Monday, the DPP sought an adjournment on the grounds that he needed more time to study the transcript and consider whether to pursue the retrial.
In his statement yesterday, he said the transcript of the trial was made available to the Chief State Solicitor, who acts on his behalf, only on Monday afternoon after the hearing had concluded. Transcripts contain a full record of the evidence given at the trial.
"Now that the transcript has been received, the director will give careful consideration to the question of whether he should pursue his application," the statement concluded.
Transcripts of criminal trials are made by stenographers who take verbatim notes of the evidence and then transcribe them. They are employed by the Department of Justice.
A spokesman for the Department told The Irish Times yesterday that there was a shortage of stenographers because of the difficulty of recruiting people with the requisite experience and skills. "In this particular case we used an outside agency," he said. "The existing corps of stenographers is under extreme pressure."
He added that the Civil Service Commission was running a competition for court stenographers at the moment, and it was hoped to augment their numbers soon.