Suggested improvements in county court procedure

Abstract

"Under the present County Court jurisdiction and procedure, it is almost impossible to recover debts." These are the first words of a printed statement adopted by the joint Committees of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, and the Dublin Mercantile Association. They are sufficiently startling, and, if true, call for very drastic reforms in County Court Procedure. But when I find that about 50,000 decrees are obtained in Ireland every year, 5,500 out of the Belfast Recorder's Court alone, and that the vast majority of these are for shop and other debts, I think the statement that " it is almost impossible to recover debts," in the Irish County Courts must be regarded as very rash. My own experience is that there is not the slightest difficulty in recovering a just debt in the County Court if creditors avail themselves of the facilities that are offered them. The only difficulty that ever arises is from the delay of creditors in suing for their debts.