Supreme Court Overhauls Rules On Delay In Prosecuting Claims

The Supreme Court recently delivered its judgment in Kirwan v O'Connor and Ors. The Court's decision is a reshaping and a rationalisation of the patchwork of rules governing the jurisdiction of the Superior Courts to strike out cases for failure to prosecute a claim in a timely manner.

This decision will be highly relevant to clients and practitioners alike who are managing or involved in claims in which no steps have been taken for a number of years. To date, the courts in Ireland have been willing to indulge delay, or as put by Hogan J, have been "far too accommodating so far as delay in the prosecution of litigation had been concerned". In Kirwan the Court has set a clear marker that plaintiffs who are slow in progressing proceedings are at risk of strike out.