New legal year brings Digital Jury platform for Longford

As courts resume fully across the country for the upcoming New Legal year 2024 - People in Longford can start using a new Courts Service online portal to answer jury summons; to follow the status of their reply; and to catch real time updates on any changes to their jury service details:

The Digital Jury Platform means a jury summons received in Longford allows people the option to reply online.

The new easy-to-use online system will allow people the option to reply to a Jury Summons, check the status of their reply, and access helpful information which is available to them 24/7.

Over the past two years this Courts Service project has been rolled out nationwide on a phased basis.

Courts Service CEO Angela Denning stated to-date, their experience of the jury digital approach is that over 40% of people who responded to their jury summons do so using the new, online platform.

"This is higher than other systems internationally. Encouragingly, feedback received from those who used the new platform has been positive," she said. “The addition to our current paper-based system of a new, alternative digital platform is about offering people different options when responding to the jury summons”.

Ms Denning insisted providing user-friendly options for people to engage with our services is at the heart of the Courts Service Modernisation Programme.

"Our Modernisation programme aims to realise our Strategic Vision 2030 to support access to justice in a modern, digital Ireland," she added.

The platform will allow for 24-7 access to those who have received a summons, providing immediate updates on any changes in times, dates or jury cancellations, and immediate electronic responses to requests for excusals by people.

This new digital platform reduces the reliance on paper-based processes, and many outdated tech platforms, offering an improved customer service that is inclusive and provides for digital first solutions.

A centralised Jury Summons Office for the country is now well-established in Castlebar, which helped with creating lean processes, and will help create a concentration of experience and knowledge over the years.

This helped the digital Jury project team in working to improve the current Jury system, with the new, online Jury platform.

The new platform has the potential to reduce the time of opening and handling of letters, and work hours dedicated to answering phone-calls freeing up staff for other front office, customer service and court duties.

The new platform will be available to those being called for jury service in the Longford area from this week.

For more information consult the video below: