Louth stats revealed in Director of Public Prosecution's annual report

The report also provided a breakdown of the case verdicts for each Circuit Criminal Court

There were 154 directions to prosecute on indictment in Louth issued by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) last year according to an annual report published by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Indictable offences are serious charges which can or must be tried before a judge and jury in the Circuit Court or the Central Criminal Court. However, not all indictable offences are tried before a jury.

The figures compare to 132 in 2022, 124 in 2021, 147 in 2020 and 159 in 2019.

The report also provided a breakdown of the case verdicts for each Circuit Criminal Court, based on files received in the years 2020 to 2022 in which individual suspects were directed for prosecution in the Circuit Court.

In Louth there were 22 cases prosecuted in 2022, 47 in 2021 and 68 in 2020. In the county there were 15 convictions on plea in 2022, 39 in 2021 and 50 in 2020.

Meanwhile, there were 7 convictions on lesser charges in 2022, 8 in 2021 and 15 in 2020. Additionally, there was one conviction by jury in 2020 and one acquittal by jury in 2020.

Catherine Pierse, Director of Public Prosecutions said:

“I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge once again the enormous work and dedication of all those working in the Irish prosecution service – the staff in my Office, State Solicitors around the country, and the barristers who prosecute on my behalf.

“I would also like to acknowledge the support and positive engagement that my staff have had with the many external stakeholders we interact with every day including An Garda Síochána and other investigative agencies.”