Probation Service under strain in Donegal as Circuit Court caseload doubles

The Probation Service is struggling under the weight of an ever-burgeoning list of criminal cases before the Circuit Court in Donegal.

The Michaelmas sitting Letterkenny Circuit Court began this week and included a criminal list of some 239 cases.

 Judge John Aylmer noted that the criminal list has “almost doubled” in the last couple of years and that “various things are at play”. Around two years ago, it would have been common for there to be in the region of 100 criminal cases listed at the Circuit Court. 

“There are a large volume of probation reports needed,” Judge Aylmer said. He said that matters listed for sentencing where counsel were hopeful of persuading the court to deal with in a non-custodial way may be able to be done without a full probation report.

However, Judge Aylmer added that he was happy to adjourn matters where full probation reports were considered necessary. 

On top of the substantial criminal list, there were also voluminous District Court appeals and licensing matters before the court.

The District Court appeals, which Judge Aylmer said would “take time” have been put back to March, 2026 when a special sitting of the Circuit Court is pencilled in.

Judge Aylmer said the adjournment of the District Court list was “in the interests of getting as much indictable work done as possible”.

Experienced barrister Mr Peter Nolan BL told the court that the Probation Service is also “coming under severe pressure” from clients.

“I want it on record that no-one on the defence side of the house is in any way blaming the Probation Service,” Mr Nolan said. “They provide an excellent service and are very co-operative. There just simply isn’t enough staff to deal with matters.”