§ Rev. Ian Paisleyasked the Attorney-General, in view of the remarks by Lord Justice Jones that with a backlog of 1,000 cases pending in Northern Ireland it was regrettable that on a recent occasion his court sat for only half an hour to hear one case, if he will arrange to bring forward Crown cases in a way that will avoid this situation arising.
The Attorney-GeneralIn the circumstances which prevailed in prisons in Northern Ireland during the week ending 18th October and which prevented the production of some defendants in court although the prosecution was ready to proceed, some waste of judicial time was 17W unavoidable. Notwithstanding these difficulties 24 criminal cases were disposed of during that week. I am satisfied that the Director of Public Prosecutions and his staff are well aware of the need to avoid waste of judicial time and will continue to do everything possible to do so.