Longford needs its own full time circuit court judge

Longford needs its own full time circuit court judge to tackle a major increase in cases being sent for trial.

That's according to Judge Keenan Johnson who made the remark during this week's sitting of the circuit court in Longford.

There's over 140 individual cases set to be brought before the court in Longford this week, with many being set forward for trial in the new year.

Jury trials were delayed over the course of the pandemic due to Covid-19 restrictions, resulting in a sizable backlog of cases to be dealt with.

In between cases on Tuesday Judge Johnston stated he is considering contacting the President of the High Court and request that a judge be assigned exclusively to Longford Circuit court to aid with trials.