O'Callaghan v Ireland & Anor (Approved)

1.������ On the 6th day of July, 2020, I delivered a judgment in these proceedings in which the appellant�s appeal was dismissed on all grounds.� The court also upheld the respondents� cross appeal against the order of the High Court allowing an extension of time to pursue a claim under s.3 of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003. The issue of costs now arises and the parties have delivered written submissions in this regard.

3.������ The appellant notes certain comments made by the court in its judgement including:

•������� That there was undoubtedly some delay in the processing of his criminal appeal as a result of a backlog of cases in the appellate system.

•������� That the period of time which elapsed between the appeal�s first appearance in the list to fix dates and the hearing date was beyond what was hitherto normal for the Court of Criminal Appeal according to the evidence of that court�s registrar, Ms. Geraldine Manners.

•������� That there was at that particular time an insufficient number of judges to carry out the necessary appellate duties, which resulted in systemic delay.