The Courts Service is in discussions with the company that provides translation services over repeated absences of interpreters at Tralee District Court.
The issue has arisen in the cases of three Filipino nationals, who are accused of conspiring to import drugs into Ireland in January.
On three occasions in the last two months, no Filipino interpreter was present in court despite direction from the District Court judge for one to attend.
29-year-old Feljon Lao is charged with conspiring with one or more persons unknown to import drugs of a value greater than €13,000, while 36-year-old Hanz Pangahin and 43-year-old Christopher Ampo, are charged with conspiring with each other, with Mr Lao, and one other unnamed person.
They were arrested in January and have been on remand in custody since.
On three separate appearances by the men at Tralee District Court, a court-ordered Filipino translator has either cancelled or not shown up to translate proceedings for the men.
In the absence of a translator, Judge David Waters has on each occasion remanded them in custody for a week.
The three men are represented by solicitor Pádraig O’Connell, who has described the interpreters’ absences as extraordinary and extremely unsatisfactory.
In response to queries from Radio Kerry, a spokesperson for the Courts Service said that Filipino translators have been booked on seven occasions by the Tralee Office since the start of the year, and problems providing an interpreter has occurred on three occasions.
The Courts Service says it’s in discussions with the service provider, Forbidden City Ltd (trading as Translation.ie) about this issue and it expects to find a solution with them.
The Courts Service further added issues sourcing interpreters for court can happen from time-to-time, particularly for languages or dialects with a relatively small population of speakers residing in the country.
The company was awarded the contract to provide translations service for all courthouses in Ireland in December 2022.
The three Filipino defendants, and four other co-accused men who do not require an interpreter, will next appear in court tomorrow, when the state is to provide an update on the book of evidence against all seven accused in the case.
