This article is from page 12 of the 2006-11-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
THE rising numbers of non-nationals coming before Clare’s court system is highlighted with a massive jump in spending on providing interpreting services this year.
In response to a Freedom of Information request from The Clare People , the Courts Service confirmed that over the past three years, almost €30,000 had been spent on interpreters by the Ennis Circuit and District Office.
Underlining the growing numbers of non-nationals coming before the courts, the spend in the District Court to the end of October in 2006 is almost double the spend in the entire of 2005 and five times the spend in 2004.
The figures show that in 2006, the District Courts Service in Clare spent €14,741 on interpreters. This compares to €8,806 spent on interpreters in 2005, while €2,552 was spent in 2004.
As the Circuit Court has four criminal and a number of civil sittings each year, the spend in the Circuit Court in Clare is smaller with the spend this year coming in at €501. The spend last year was at €952 and €2301 in 2004.
Court lists for sittings of Shannon and Ennis District Courts are showing an increasing number of non-nationals, especially from the eastern European countries.
Each Friday, there are interpreters on hand acting on behalf of citizens from Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and other eastern European countries.
The figures nationally show that €2 million has been spent on interpreters in the court this year – a rise of €800,000 on the €1.257 million spend in 2005. The spend nationally in 2004 was €553,761.
A large proportion of the interpretation and translation spend is going to companies that are capitalising on the influx of people from the accession countries.
The figures show that €1.39 million was paid to Word Perfect Translation over the past three years, €1.1 million was paid to Forbidden City while Access Translations scooped €446,818 over the past three years.
The figures show that the District office at Chancery Street in Dublin has the highest amount in fees paid to translators with €782,138 between 2004 and the end of October 2006 while at Cloverhill District Court Office, €404,604 was paid over the past three years.
In Limerick District Court area, the costs for interpreters are €107,821, while in Nenagh District Court office, the costs are €29,232.