A justice system that operates effectively ensures that all individuals, irrespective of their social or economic status, are held to the same legal standards. It ensures that rights are protected through impartial, expert adjudication. A robust justice system also serves as a safeguard against abuses of authority, reinforces public trust in institutions, and provides mechanisms for resolving disputes fairly and effectively.

An efficient justice system is also important, enabling the timely resolution of legal disputes and mitigating the risk of delayed proceedings that may, effectively, deny justice. Efficiency strengthens public trust and confidence in legal institutions, ensures access to justice for all, and affirms the capacity of democratic institutions to respond promptly and impartially to societal needs. The European Commission, for example, specifically highlighted the need for Ireland to “regularly evaluate court performance based on defined indicators” in the Ireland Chapter of the Commission’s 2025 Rule of Law Report.

A record €6.17 billion has been allocated to the Justice, Home Affairs and Migration budget for 2026. To ensure that spending and reform efforts are both effective and economical, they should be underpinned by reliable data and rigorous analysis. This approach enhances the quality of policymaking and reinforces public confidence and trust by demonstrating that reforms are driven by objective data. Evidence-based reform helps to identify what works, what does not work, and where resources can be most effectively deployed to improve outcomes for all.

The purpose of this Justice Indicators research paper is to provide policymakers with reliable and objective evidence to inform decision making. The Justice Indicators demonstrate how institutions of justice are performing compared with other jurisdictions. This research paper evaluates the resourcing, efficiency, and effectiveness of the Irish justice system across several core areas:

(i) Trust,

(ii) Policing,

(iii) Courts, and.

(iv) Prisons.

The analysis presented in this research paper draws on more than 100 national and international data sources. These include the European Commission’s EU Justice Scoreboard; the Council of Europe’s Annual Penal Statistics (SPACE) reports; the OECD’s Surveys on the Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions; datasets from Eurostat and the Central Statistics Office (CSO); the Council of Europe’s CEPEJ Evaluation Report on European judicial systems; annual reports from the Courts Service; the Office of the Inspector of Prisons; and the Policing and Community Safety Authority; publications from the Department of Justice; and a wide range of academic and NGO reports and articles.

The justice system extends beyond the four areas examined: trust, policing, courts, and prisons. The Centre for Justice and Law Reform may expand the scope of the Justice Indicators Project to include additional indicators in future publications.