€5m cost in translation

Big courts bill for languages service in trials

- BY KEN FOXE

THE Courts Service spent more than €5million on interpreters for criminal trials and civil proceedings over the past 18 months.

This year's bill is on track to be much larger than last year, with €2.09million spent in the six-month period between January and June.

That compared to a full-year figure of €2.99million for 2024, according to data released by the Courts Service under FOI law.

The service said that interpreters had been provided in 76 different languages last year.

This included some of the most commonly spoken tongues, but also interpreters for Irish, Kinyar-wanda, and Mauritian Creole.