Notice of Trial and Case Management in Irish Personal Injury Litigation: Setting Down, Pre-Trial Hearings and the Path to Hearing

Quick Reference: Notice of Trial in Personal Injury Actions at a Glance

High Court rule

Order 36 of the Rules of the Superior Courts (as inserted by S.I. No. 355 of 2012)

Circuit Court rule

Order 33 of the Circuit Court Rules (rule 2 substituted by S.I. No. 94 of 2009)

District Court rule

District Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2014 (S.I. No. 17 of 2014)

High Court notice period

At least 21 days, unless shorter notice has been agreed

Circuit Court notice period (outside Dublin Circuit)

Not less than 10 days, unless agreed shorter

District Court notice period

Not less than 10 days

High Court form

Form 18A (Notice of Trial, Personal Injuries)

Setting down deadline

Within 14 days of service, or the notice expires

Expert disclosure trigger

Plaintiff schedule within 1 month of service; defendant within 7 days of plaintiff's schedule (S.I. No. 391/1998, Order 39 rr.45–51)

Statutory case management

Section 18, Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004; Order 49A RSC

Primary source (court rules)

Rules of the Superior Courts on courts.ie

Primary source (High Court guide)

Courts.ie personal injury claim guide

Contents

What a Notice of Trial Does in an Irish Personal Injury Action

A notice of trial moves a pleaded case from preparation into the court's hearing queue. Under Order 36, rule 3 of the Rules of the Superior Courts, a notice of trial must be served in all actions commenced by personal injuries summons or plenary summons where pleadings have closed (S.I. No. 355 of 2012). The notice is a declaration to the opposing party that the plaintiff is ready to be heard. It is the procedural pre-condition for setting the action down in the relevant court office.

Service of the notice does two things at once. It tells the defendant that pleadings are closed and the plaintiff intends to proceed to hearing. It also starts a fortnight-long clock during which the action must be physically lodged with the Central Office (in the High Court) or the Circuit Court Office (in the Circuit Court). If the action is not set down within that 14-day window, the notice of trial expires by operation of Order 36, rule 18 RSC, and the plaintiff must serve a fresh notice to begin again.

The procedural mechanics matter because, in Irish personal injury litigation, the notice of trial is also the trigger for several substantive obligations. It activates the expert disclosure timetable under Statutory Instrument No. 391 of 1998. It closes the prescribed period for formal offers under Section 17 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004. And it places the action within reach of the court's case management powers under Section 18 of the same Act and Order 49A of the Rules of the Superior Courts. The notice is, in short, the moment a personal injury action stops being a private dispute and becomes an item of judicial business.

Notice of Trial Across the Three Courts: A Side-by-Side Comparison

The mechanics of notice of trial differ across the three civil courts in Ireland. The table below summarises the position in Irish personal injury practice so that practitioners and claimants can identify the controlling rule at a glance.

Notice of trial procedures across the High Court, Circuit Court, and District Court in Irish personal injury litigation

Feature	High Court	Circuit Court (outside Dublin)	Circuit Court (Dublin)	District Court
Damages jurisdiction	Over €60,000	€15,001 to €60,000	€15,001 to €60,000	Up to €15,000
Governing rule	Order 36 RSC (SI 355/2012)	Order 33 r.2 CCR (SI 94/2009)	Order 33 r.3 CCR	DCR 2014 (SI 17/2014)
Form / mechanism	Form 18A (Notice of Trial — Personal Injuries)	Notice of trial served on parties	Notice for the fixing of a date	Notice of trial
Minimum notice period	21 days (unless agreed shorter)	10 days (unless agreed shorter)	21 days of date fixed (Order 33 r.3 CCR per SI 189/2008)	10 days
Setting down / filing	Central Office within 14 days of service	Circuit Court Office within 7 days of service	Lodged with County Registrar for date allocation	District Court Clerk
Listing mechanism	Dublin Personal Injuries List + provincial sittings calendar	Callover before County Registrar	Date fixed by County Registrar	District Court Clerk sittings
Indicative stamp duty	€250 setting down docket stamp duty	€120 notice of trial fee	€120 notice fixing date fee	No separate notice-of-trial fee listed
Case management framework	Order 49A RSC + Section 18 CLCA 2004; HC131/HC132 for clinical negligence	Order 19A CCR case progression	Order 19A CCR plus listing checklist (Law Society practice note)	Limited; direct listing

High Court Procedure: Order 36 and the Setting Down Process

High Court notice of trial requires 21 days, the prescribed form, and a separate setting down docket. In a personal injury action in Ireland where damages exceed €60,000, proceedings are issued by personal injuries summons under Order 1A RSC, and the notice of trial follows the close of pleadings. Order 36, rule 3 of the Rules of the Superior Courts provides that a notice of trial shall be served in all actions commenced by plenary summons. The same rule provides that at least 21 days' notice must be given, unless shorter notice has been agreed (Order 36 RSC on courts.ie). The 21 days applies to all High Court venues, Dublin and provincial alike.

Form 18A: The Personal Injuries Notice of Trial

The High Court uses prescribed Form 18A, headed "Notice of Trial (Personal Injuries)" and published in Appendix A to the Rules of the Superior Courts (courts.ie form repository). Form 18A is served on the defendant or the defendant's solicitor and identifies the action's title, record number, intended venue, and an estimate of the duration of trial. A motion to set aside the notice of trial must be brought within four days of service under Order 36, rule 3 RSC, and the time for setting aside is strict.

The Setting Down Docket and Central Office Fees

Service of Form 18A is not the same as setting the action down for trial. The party setting the proceedings down must, within 14 days of service, lodge a copy of the notice of trial in the Central Office. The lodgement must include two copies of the entire pleadings, any notices for particulars and replies, and a setting down docket (Citizens Information). The Central Office stamps the setting down docket on payment of court fees. Only when those steps are complete is the case treated as set down.

The fee is a practical reality of the listing process. The setting down docket carries a €250 stamp duty payable in the Central Office (Courts Service Common Court Fees). No separate fee is charged on lodgement of the notice of trial itself; the €250 setting-down stamp is the only court fee at this stage of the High Court procedure. In chancery and non-jury proceedings, a certificate of readiness signed by counsel must also be filed, although this is not formally required in personal injury actions before the High Court.

Indicative court stamp duties triggered around notice of trial in Irish personal injury proceedings in Ireland (rates per Court Fees Orders 2014, as periodically amended)

Court	Notice of trial / setting down fee	Source
High Court	€250 stamp (setting down docket); no separate notice-of-trial fee	S.I. No. 492 of 2014 as amended (Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court (Fees) Order 2014, Part 4, item 18)
Circuit Court	€120 notice of trial fee (outside Dublin) / €120 fee for notice fixing date in Dublin Circuit	S.I. No. 491 of 2014 as amended (Circuit Court (Fees) (No. 2) Order 2014)
District Court	No specific notice-of-trial fee listed on the Courts Service Common Court Fees schedule [CITATION UNVERIFIED: original "€25 entry fee on lodgement of notice of trial" could not be confirmed against S.I. 22/2014 or the Courts Service schedule, which records District Court setting-down as N/A — solicitor review required]	S.I. No. 22 of 2014 as amended (District Court (Fees) Order 2014)

Rates above are indicative and updated by ministerial order from time to time; consult the relevant Court Fees Order for the operative rate at lodgement.

Defendant's Right to Serve Where Plaintiff Defaults

If the plaintiff does not serve a notice of trial within six weeks after the close of pleadings, the defendant has two options under Order 36, rule 12 RSC (Order 36 r.12 on courts.ie). The six-week period may be extended by the court. The defendant may either serve a notice of trial in the plaintiff's place, or apply to the court to dismiss the action for want of prosecution. The defendant's serving of a notice of trial in the plaintiff's place is rare in personal injury practice, where the plaintiff almost invariably wishes to progress matters. The dismissal route is the more familiar response to plaintiff inactivity.

Circuit Court Procedure: Order 33 and Case Progression

Circuit Court notice of trial works differently inside and outside the Dublin Circuit. Personal injury claims valued between €15,001 and €60,000 are issued by Civil Bill under Order 5 of the Circuit Court Rules. The rules governing notice of trial sit in Order 33 (courts.ie Circuit Court Rules). Order 33 was substantially recast by S.I. No. 94 of 2009, and the Personal Injuries amendments are consolidated through subsequent statutory instruments.

Outside the Dublin Circuit: The 10-Day Rule

Order 33, rule 2 of the Circuit Court Rules applies outside the Dublin Circuit. The plaintiff must serve not less than 10 days' notice of trial on the defendant and all other necessary parties, unless the parties agree a shorter period. The notice of trial must be filed at the Circuit Court Office within seven days of service. Filing operates to set the action down for hearing, which is then listed before the County Registrar for allocation of a date. Provincial Circuit Court personal injury cases are drawn into the next available sittings, which run on a periodic calendar published in advance.

The Dublin Circuit: Date Fixing and the Listing Checklist

The Dublin Circuit operates under a different mechanism. Under Order 33, rule 3 of the Circuit Court Rules, the plaintiff serves a notice for the fixing of a date for trial rather than a conventional notice of trial. The action is then listed before the County Registrar for date allocation. The Law Society of Ireland has published a practice note titled "Dublin Circuit Court: Information to Accompany Notices of Trial" (Law Society practice note). The note requires the solicitor to certify several preconditions before a date will issue. A 12-month period must have elapsed since the accident. A defence must have been delivered or judgment in default obtained. Pre-trial issues on discovery and particulars must be resolved. The matter must be fully advised on proofs.

Order 19A Case Progression in the Circuit Court

Order 19A of the Circuit Court Rules, inserted to give effect to the case progression model, allows the County Registrar to require a case progression hearing. The plaintiff is required to file an indexed book of pleadings and complete a Case Progression Questionnaire (Form 37N) not less than seven days before the hearing (Citizens Information). At the hearing, the Registrar identifies outstanding steps, fixes a timetable for completion of preparation, and may give directions on pleadings, discovery, particulars, expert reports, and mediation. The Registrar may invite the parties to mediation, conciliation or arbitration under section 16(1) of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004.

What Happens After Notice of Trial: Disclosure, Offers and Listing

Service of a notice of trial activates three parallel clocks. Within a month, the plaintiff must exchange a schedule of expert reports. Within 14 days, the formal offer window closes. And the case enters the court's hearing list for date allocation, subject to the practical realities of the relevant personal injuries list. Each clock has its own consequences for non-compliance, and practitioners treat the post-notice fortnight as one of the most consequential periods in any Irish personal injury action.

Before the notice can usefully be served, the plaintiff must have complied with the verifying affidavit requirement in Section 14 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004. The plaintiff must swear an affidavit verifying any pleading containing assertions of fact, and must do so within 21 days of service of the pleading or such longer period as the court allows. A failure to verify creates a procedural vulnerability that a defendant can exploit by motion at the Section 18 stage. Practitioners treat the verifying affidavit as a setting-down readiness item rather than a free-standing pleadings step.

Chronological obligations triggered by service of a High Court notice of trial in a personal injury action

Obligation	Deadline	Source
Setting down (notice + docket + pleadings in Central Office)	Within 14 days of service of notice	Order 36, rule 18 RSC
Plaintiff's schedule of expert reports	Within 1 month of service of notice	S.I. No. 391/1998, Order 39 r.46(1)
Defendant's schedule of expert reports	Within 7 days of plaintiff's schedule	S.I. No. 391/1998, Order 39 r.46(2)
Exchange of actual expert reports	Within the period directed under Order 39	S.I. No. 391/1998, Order 39 r.47
Section 17 formal offer prescribed period ends	14 days after service of notice of trial	Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004, s.17; S.I. No. 169/2005

Expert Disclosure Under S.I. No. 391/1998

The Rules of the Superior Courts (No. 6) (Disclosure of Reports and Statements) 1998 inserted what became Order 39, rules 45 to 51 RSC, governing the pre-trial exchange of expert reports in personal injury actions (S.I. 391/1998 on irishstatutebook.ie). The definition of "report" is broad: it captures reports by medical practitioners, consulting engineers, actuaries, accountants, and any other expert intended to be called, as well as maps, photographs and calculations the parties intend to rely on. A party who does not intend to call any expert must certify that fact in writing rather than remaining silent (Law Society practice note on disclosure).

The consequences of non-compliance are significant. The court may, on motion, exclude any expert report that was not disclosed in accordance with the rule, and in serious cases may strike out the claim or defence and order costs against the non-compliant party. The Court of Appeal and High Court have repeatedly emphasised that the disclosure rules are not procedural niceties; they exist to eliminate trial by ambush and to allow each side to assess the case before trial.

Section 17 Formal Offers and the 14-Day Window

Section 17 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 imposes mutual obligations on both sides (Section 17 CLCA 2004 on irishstatutebook.ie). The plaintiff must serve a notice of an offer of terms of settlement on the defendant. The defendant must serve a notice of an offer, or a statement that no payment is offered. The operative wording of subsection (1) is:

Where a personal injuries action has been brought, the plaintiff shall serve a notice in writing of an offer of terms of settlement on the defendant; and the defendant shall serve a notice in writing of an offer of terms of settlement, or a notice in writing stating that he or she is not prepared to pay any sum of money to the plaintiff in settlement of the action, on the plaintiff.

Section 17(1), Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 (irishstatutebook.ie)

The prescribed period was fixed by the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 (Section 17) Order 2005 (S.I. No. 169 of 2005) as the period beginning on the date which is one month after pleadings close and ending 14 days after service of the notice of trial.

Section 17 was further amended by section 6 of the Civil Liability (Amendment) Act 2017, which inserted subsections (2A) and (5A). In catastrophic injury cases, subsection (2A) requires the offer to identify the proportion of the proposed settlement attributable to each of four categories: future medical treatment, future care, assistive technology, and future loss of earnings. The four-category disclosure is non-negotiable in catastrophic cases and is the mechanism by which Section 17 dovetails with the Periodic Payment Order regime under Part IVB of the Civil Liability Act 1961. Subsection (5A) allows the court to take account of the structure of the offer when comparing it with the eventual award for costs-discipline purposes, so a defendant who offers a lump sum where a PPO-structured offer was practicable risks an adverse costs consequence even where the lump sum is generous.

The court is required, in considering costs, to have regard to the terms of formal offers and to the reasonableness of the parties' conduct in making them. A plaintiff who refuses a Section 17 offer and then recovers less at trial may face adverse costs orders from the date of the offer. The same logic applies in reverse to defendants whose offers were unreasonably low. The cost consequences in Irish personal injury practice are independent of the lodgment and tender mechanism under Order 22 RSC, which provides a separate route for payment into court.

Step-by-Step: From Pleadings Close to Trial Date in an Irish Personal Injury Action

The procedural sequence triggered by service of a notice of trial in Ireland follows eight distinct stages. Each stage carries its own deadlines and its own consequences for non-compliance.

1. Stage 1: Pleadings close. The defence (and any reply) has been delivered. Notices for particulars are answered. The action is procedurally ready for trial readiness assessment.
2. Stage 2: Notice of trial served. The plaintiff serves Form 18A in the High Court, or the equivalent notice in the Circuit or District Court. The minimum notice period (21 days HC; 10 days CC outside Dublin; 10 days DC) starts running.
3. Stage 3: Setting down within 14 days. The plaintiff lodges the notice plus pleadings and the setting down docket in the Central Office (HC) or files the notice with the Circuit Court Office (CC outside Dublin) within 14 days. Failure to set down means the notice expires by operation of Order 36, rule 18 RSC.
4. Stage 4: Plaintiff's expert schedule (1 month). Within one month of service, the plaintiff exchanges a schedule listing all expert reports intended to be relied upon at trial, per Order 39 rule 46(1) RSC.
5. Stage 5: Defendant's reciprocal expert schedule (7 days). Within seven days of receiving the plaintiff's schedule, the defendant exchanges a reciprocal schedule per Order 39 rule 46(2) RSC. Parties calling no experts must certify that fact in writing.
6. Stage 6: Section 17 formal offer window closes (14 days). The prescribed period for serving Section 17 formal offers ends 14 days after service of the notice of trial. Offers made within the prescribed period count for the trial judge's costs analysis.
7. Stage 7: Case management directions / Section 18 hearing. The court may, on its own motion or on application, convene a Section 18 pre-trial hearing or issue Order 49A directions. In clinical negligence cases, the HC131 Certificate of Compliance regime requires a separate 28-day notice and a non-negotiable readiness certificate before a trial date is allocated.
8. Stage 8: Callover and hearing date allocation. The action is called over before the judge in charge of the relevant list. Where readiness is confirmed, a hearing date is allocated. In the Dublin Personal Injuries List, allocation is by email request to PIhighCourt@courts.ie; provincial venues operate on a periodic sittings calendar.

Statutory Case Management Powers: Section 18 CLCA 2004 and Order 49A RSC

Section 18 gives the court the power to convene a pre-trial hearing to narrow the issues in dispute. The provision is short but consequential. Section 18(1) of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 provides:

Where, in a personal injuries action, the court considers it appropriate, it shall direct that a hearing be held before the trial of the action for the purposes of determining what matters relating to the action are in dispute.

Section 18(1), Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 (irishstatutebook.ie)

The pre-trial hearing under Section 18 is to be presided over by a judge of the High Court, the Master of the High Court, a Deputy Master, or a nominated officer in the High Court. The nominated officer is appointed under the Eighth Schedule to the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961, as the President of the High Court may direct. In the Circuit Court, the County Registrar or a member of Circuit Court Office staff may preside, as the President of the Circuit Court may direct. Section 18(4) preserves the court's wider directions power. A Section 18 hearing supplements rather than replaces general case management.

Order 49A RSC supplies the operational framework for case management in the High Court in Ireland (Rules of the Superior Courts index on courts.ie). The court may, on its own motion, give directions, fix time limits, and make orders considered necessary or expedient for the determination of the proceedings in a manner that is just, expeditious and likely to minimise costs. In practice, Order 49A directions cover the sequencing of expert reports, the lodgment of agreed books of pleadings, the use of video-link evidence, and the conduct of preliminary trials on discrete issues. At case management hearings, the parties typically use Form 49.02 (the Case Management Questionnaire in the High Court) or Form 37N (the Case Progression Questionnaire in the Circuit Court) to identify outstanding steps before the Registrar or judge. In practitioner terms, Section 18 is the statutory pre-trial review and Order 49A is the procedural toolkit the court uses to give it teeth.

Section 16 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 supplies the costs sanction that gives the mediation power its bite. Where the court directs a mediation conference under Section 15 and a party fails to comply with the direction or fails to attend in good faith, the court may take that conduct into account when determining costs. Section 16 sits alongside the costs consequences of unreasonable refusal of Section 17 offers, so a party who refuses to mediate and also rejects a reasonable offer is doubly exposed. Mediation communications themselves are confidential under section 10 of the Mediation Act 2017, so the costs sanction operates on the fact of non-attendance or bad-faith participation rather than on the content of what was said in mediation.

Section 26 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 sits in the same statutory toolkit and interacts directly with the notice of trial. Where the court is satisfied that the plaintiff has given evidence, or sworn an affidavit, that is false or misleading in any material respect and that the plaintiff knew it to be so, the court must dismiss the action unless dismissal would result in injustice. Section 26 applications are typically brought at or near the Section 18 stage, after the notice of trial has been served and the evidence has crystallised. The Supreme Court's interpretation in subsequent case law has confirmed that the section is to be invoked sparingly and that the threshold of materiality is substantive, not technical.

The Dublin Personal Injuries List in Practice

The Dublin Personal Injuries List is the operational heart of High Court personal injury litigation. Once a case is set down, it is allocated a list number and managed by the judge in charge of the list. Trial dates in Dublin are allocated through a combination of email request to the registrar (PIhighCourt@courts.ie) and physical callovers held in advance of each sittings. The Courts Service's High Court lists page describes the operational practice and the email allocation mechanism (courts.ie High Court lists).

Provincial Personal Injuries Lists sit in Cork, Galway, Limerick (including sittings at Ennis), Sligo, Dundalk, and Waterford/Kilkenny. In advance of each provincial sitting, the judge in charge holds a hybrid callover at which cases are confirmed for hearing. As recent provincial callovers under Mr Justice Coffey and his predecessors have emphasised, where neither party appears at callover or where the matter is not in a position to proceed, the notice of trial may be struck out. The discipline of the callover is a feature of Irish personal injury practice and is one practical reason solicitors do not serve notice of trial before proofs are substantially complete.

Practice Direction HC104 (Practice Direction HC104 on courts.ie), effective from 7 April 2021, governs applications for remote-platform hearings in the Dublin Personal Injuries List. A party may apply on notice to the judge in charge for a remote hearing, and unless good reason is shown why the action should not be heard remotely, the court will give the necessary directions. Plaintiff books of pleadings and expert reports must be lodged in the List Room by 12 noon on the Thursday prior to the date fixed for hearing.

Clinical Negligence: Practice Directions HC131 and HC132 (April 2025)

Clinical negligence proceedings now operate under a dedicated High Court list with its own trial-date regime. On 28 April 2025, the President of the High Court brought two new Practice Directions into force. Together, they restructure the case management of clinical negligence claims and impose a Certificate of Compliance regime on applications for trial dates. The Directions are HC131 (Clinical Negligence Actions: Applications for Trial Dates) and HC132 (Clinical Negligence List), and they have been treated by Irish practitioners as the vanguard of civil case management (HC132 on courts.ie).

HC132: The Clinical Negligence List

Practice Direction HC132 establishes a dedicated Clinical Negligence List within the Dublin Personal Injuries List. The list is presided over by a Judge in Charge, assigned by the President of the High Court, who is drawn from the Personal Injuries List and chosen for experience in clinical negligence proceedings. HC132 applies to all clinical negligence proceedings before the High Court from the effective date, regardless of when the proceedings were commenced. It covers mentions, applications for trial dates, interlocutory applications, case management directions hearings, hearings and cost applications, but excludes motions and ex parte applications ordinarily listed in the Common Law Motion Lists.

Interlocutory applications that are necessary for the management of proceedings and applications for case management directions require prior leave of the Judge in Charge. The Judge in Charge may issue case management directions on the timetabling of expert reports, witness statements and mediation. The architecture is recognisably the Section 18 pre-trial review and Order 49A framework, intensified for the specific evidential complexity of clinical negligence cases.

HC131: The Certificate of Compliance Regime

Practice Direction HC131 specifies the circumstances in which a party to a clinical negligence action may apply for a trial date. After the case has been set down, any party may apply for a date for trial on giving 28 days' notice to all affected parties. The application proceeds only if specified conditions are satisfied and confirmed in writing by a Certificate of Compliance signed by the solicitor (or by the party where unrepresented). The conditions are non-negotiable absent manifest urgency.

The Certificate of Compliance requires:

• A fully pleaded case, including particulars of negligence, grounds of defence, pleas on causation and contributory negligence, and any necessary amendments to pleadings.
• All replies to particulars, further particulars of personal injuries or special damages, vouching documentation, and a final schedule of special damages delivered.
• A continuing obligation: particulars of any additional injuries or special damages disclosed by an expert quantum report must be provided within six weeks of receipt.
• All outstanding discovery obligations complied with.
• A complete schedule of all intended witnesses, both factual and expert, exchanged or offered for exchange.
• All expert reports intended to be relied upon at trial exchanged or offered for exchange.
• An undertaking to offer mediation to the opposing party or to actively engage in mediation if offered.

HC131 was issued by the President of the High Court on 8 April 2025 with effect from 28 April 2025. It replaced a similarly entitled and worded predecessor, Practice Direction HC130, which had been issued on 25 March 2025 and was revoked on 8 April 2025 when HC131 was issued. HC130 had introduced the concept of a separate application for a trial date in clinical negligence proceedings, and HC131 retained that framework while refining the Certificate of Compliance enumeration and the supporting case management regime. The rapid replacement of HC130 by HC131, less than two weeks after its issuance, indicates how seriously the President of the High Court took the need for a binding readiness regime in clinical negligence cases. The strictness of HC131 represents a clear shift away from the old practice of seeking a trial date while witness lists or expert reports were still being finalised. In practice, Section 18 cases turn on whether the certificate can honestly be signed; where it cannot, the trial date application will not proceed.

Delay After Notice of Trial: The Reformulated Test in Kirwan v Connors

Inactivity after notice of trial now carries sharply increased risk of dismissal. The Supreme Court's decision in Kirwan v Connors [2025] IESC 21 was delivered on 30 May 2025 by a seven-judge panel. The judgment reformulated the long-standing Primor test for dismissal of proceedings for want of prosecution (Kirwan v Connors judgment on courts.ie). The reformulation places the length of inactivity at the centre of the analysis. It shifts the onus to the plaintiff at earlier stages than the previous case law had required.

Three Distinct Dismissal Tracks in Irish Civil Procedure

It is worth distinguishing three procedural routes by which a defendant may seek dismissal of a personal injury action for inactivity, because they carry different thresholds and different remedies. The first is dismissal under Order 27 of the Rules of the Superior Courts, which addresses specific procedural defaults such as failure to deliver a statement of claim or to comply with a court order; Order 27 dismissals respond to a defined default, not to general delay. The second is dismissal under Order 122, rule 11 RSC, which empowers the court to strike out proceedings in which no step has been taken for two years. The third is the inherent-jurisdiction dismissal route now governed by Kirwan v Connors, which operates as a sliding scale and rests on the court's constitutional jurisdiction to control its own process. The three tracks are cumulative rather than alternative: a defendant may invoke whichever provision best fits the procedural posture of the case, and in serious delay cases motion papers will often plead all three together.

The Position Before Kirwan

For nearly thirty years, applications to dismiss for delay had been governed by the test in Primor plc v Stokes Kennedy Crowley [1996] 2 IR 459. The Primor test required the moving party to show inordinate delay, that the delay was inexcusable, and that the balance of justice favoured dismissal. Although the Primor formulation had been cited in over 440 subsequent cases, the courts in the period 2015 to 2024 had become progressively less tolerant of plaintiff inactivity. The reframing in Kirwan therefore did not arrive in a vacuum; it codified a trajectory that had been visible for a decade.

The Kirwan Sliding Scale

The seven-judge panel (O'Donnell CJ, Dunne J, Charleton J, O'Malley J, Hogan J, Murray J and Collins J) was unanimous in affirming the dismissal of Mr Kirwan's proceedings, but divided on the formulation of the reformulated test. The majority judgments were delivered by O'Donnell CJ and Hogan J; Murray J and Collins J delivered separate judgments addressing points of difference, with Collins J differing more substantively on whether defendants bear responsibility for progressing litigation against them. The reformulated test articulated by O'Donnell CJ relied on the analysis of Murray J and was agreed with by Hogan J. The court emphasised that the resulting four-band sliding scale should not be applied mechanically, but the bands provide a practical structure for analysis.

The principal change effected by this judgment is that delay, in and of itself, is to be regarded as the primary factor in considering an application to dismiss for want of prosecution. Prejudice remains relevant, but it is no longer the sine qua non of dismissal.

per Murray J, Kirwan v Connors [2025] IESC 21 (courts.ie)

The sliding-scale test from Kirwan v Connors [2025] IESC 21

Cumulative inactivity	Position	Onus
Up to 2 years	Dismissal only on abuse of process or Ó Domhnaill level prejudice	On defendant
2 to 4 years	Dismissal may be ordered where some additional prejudice or other factor points to it; court may instead make strict case management directions whose breach itself grounds dismissal	On defendant, but threshold lowered
4 to 5 years	Presumption of dismissal where oral evidence is required, unless plaintiff shows compelling reason	Shifts to plaintiff
Over 5 years	Generous power to dismiss; only a pressing exigency of justice will permit the case to proceed	On plaintiff; high bar

Post-Kirwan Application in Personal Injury Practice

The first reported application of the reformulated test to a personal injuries action came in Murphy v Aer Lingus Group plc [2025] IEHC 589. The High Court dismissed proceedings issued more than twelve years previously, with over seven years of cumulative inactivity attributable to the plaintiff and no pressing exigency of justice identified. Subsequent High Court decisions have refined the application of the test. In Doyle v Commissioner of An Garda Síochána [2025] IEHC 591 and Homes of Heritage Limited v Cunningham [2025] IEHC 724, the court clarified that the relevant period of inactivity need not immediately precede the application to dismiss. The court must look at the cumulative picture of prosecution.

The practical consequence for personal injury practitioners is that notice of trial is no longer the end of the story for delay risk. A case may sit on the list for years if listing constraints push a hearing date well into the future. During that period the plaintiff retains the obligation to be ready to proceed. Where a hearing date is vacated and not promptly relisted, the period of inactivity continues to accrue. In practice, plaintiff solicitors increasingly use the period between notice of trial and listed hearing date to lodge interim updates, exchange supplementary reports, and notify the registrar of significant developments. These steps preserve list position and evidence active prosecution.

The mechanics of relisting matter. In the Dublin Personal Injuries List, an application for a fresh listing date is made by email to the registrar at PIhighCourt@courts.ie, ideally with a letter of consent from the defendant's solicitor confirming the new date is workable. Where consent is not forthcoming, the application is mentioned at the next list call before the judge in charge, who fixes a date or directs further steps. Provincial venues operate on a periodic-sittings calendar rather than rolling allocation, so a vacated provincial date typically requires the case to wait until the next published sittings. Practitioners who allow the post-vacation period to drift, without lodging a relisting application or otherwise engaging the registrar, expose the case to the cumulative-inactivity analysis under Kirwan even though the procedural drift is partially attributable to the listing system itself.

Common Procedural Pitfalls at the Notice of Trial Stage

Most notice-of-trial difficulties trace to a small set of recurring errors. Each of the pitfalls below has produced reported applications, costs orders, or strike-out in Irish personal injury practice. Awareness of the pattern is the most reliable form of avoidance in Ireland.

1. Serving notice of trial before proofs are substantially complete. The 14-day setting down window starts on service. Where proofs are not ready, the notice may expire before setting down or, worse, the case may be called over while still incomplete and struck out at callover. The disciplined practice is to verify proofs readiness before serving.
2. Missing the 14-day setting down deadline. Order 36, rule 18 RSC operates without forgiveness: if the action is not set down within 14 days of service, the notice expires and the plaintiff must serve afresh. The cause is usually a delayed Central Office docket or an indexed pleadings bundle that is not ready.
3. Failing the verifying affidavit requirement. Section 14 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 requires a verifying affidavit for any pleading containing assertions of fact. A defendant whose own particulars have been pleaded but not verified is vulnerable to a Section 18 application. Practitioners should verify on both sides before serving notice.
4. Missing the one-month expert schedule deadline. Under S.I. No. 391/1998, the plaintiff has one month from service of the notice to deliver the schedule of expert reports. Non-compliance invites a defendant motion under Order 39 rule 50 RSC for directions or strike-out of the affected evidence.
5. Forgetting the Section 17 formal offer obligation. The prescribed period closes 14 days after service. A plaintiff who fails to serve a Section 17 offer (or, for a defendant, a notice of no offer) within the window may face a costs argument at trial regardless of the outcome on liability.
6. Under-estimating trial duration on Form 18A. The duration estimate determines listing slot allocation. An under-estimate produces a listing that runs over and risks part-heard adjournment; an over-estimate may push the case to a later sittings. The estimate should be conservative but accurate.
7. Failing to lodge HC104 papers by 12 noon Thursday. Practice Direction HC104 requires agreed books of pleadings and expert reports to be lodged in the Dublin Personal Injuries List Room by 12 noon on the Thursday before the hearing date. Late lodgment can produce a vacated date with no automatic re-allocation.
8. Missing the 28-day HC131 trial-date notice in clinical negligence. Under Practice Direction HC131, an application for a trial date in a clinical negligence action requires 28 days' notice to all affected parties plus a signed Certificate of Compliance. Applications that omit the notice or that are accompanied by a defective certificate are routinely refused by the Judge in Charge.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between serving a notice of trial and setting a case down for trial?

Serving the notice tells the defendant that pleadings are closed and the plaintiff is ready to be heard. Setting down is the separate act of lodging the notice and pleadings in the court office and paying the stamp duty.

In the High Court, both steps must be completed within 14 days, or the notice of trial expires under Order 36, rule 18 RSC. The Central Office requires a copy of the notice, two copies of the pleadings, and a setting down docket carrying €250 stamp duty. No separate fee is charged on the notice of trial itself; the €250 setting-down stamp is the only court fee at this stage. Only when the docket is stamped is the action treated as set down, and only at that point does the case receive a list number for hearing allocation purposes.

Practitioner note: The 14-day window catches solicitors who serve the notice before they have the docket ready or the file fully indexed. The disciplined sequence is: agree readiness, prepare the docket, then serve.

Read more: Courts.ie guide to completing a setting down docket.

How long does it take to get a hearing date after serving a notice of trial in Ireland?

In the Dublin Personal Injuries List, a case that is genuinely ready to proceed can secure a hearing date within four to six weeks of being set down, subject to list congestion. Provincial venues run on periodic sittings, so the wait depends on the calendar.

The realistic timetable also depends on the readiness of expert evidence, the willingness of both parties to agree dates, and the practicalities of counsel availability. In clinical negligence cases under HC131, the Certificate of Compliance regime means that trial date applications will be refused unless the case is genuinely ready. The new regime has lengthened the front end of the process while shortening the back end. The Courts Service publishes hearing date statistics in its annual reports and on its lists pages, and the Dublin Personal Injuries List page lists provincial sittings dates and venues.

Practitioner note: Where readiness is genuine and the case is moderately complex, six to nine months from notice of trial to hearing is a reasonable working assumption in Dublin in 2026.

Read more: See our guide to how long a personal injury claim takes to go to court in Ireland.

What happens if the defendant ignores the notice of trial?

The defendant cannot stop the case from progressing by ignoring the notice. The plaintiff still sets the case down, and if the defendant fails to appear at trial the plaintiff may prove the claim in their absence.

If the defendant has filed a defence but takes no further steps, the case proceeds to hearing in the ordinary way. If the defendant has not filed a defence by the time the notice of trial is served, the plaintiff's usual route is to apply for judgment in default of defence rather than to push the case directly to hearing. A motion to set aside a notice of trial under Order 36, rule 3 RSC must be brought within four days of service. A defendant who waits beyond that window has effectively accepted that the action will proceed to listing.

Practitioner note: Defendant inactivity after notice of trial is, in personal injury practice, almost always a signal that the defendant is preparing to settle rather than to defend. Where it is not, the case is heard regardless.

Read more: See defending a personal injury claim.

What is a Section 18 pre-trial hearing in a personal injury action?

Section 18 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 allows the court to convene a hearing before trial to determine what matters are in dispute. The point is to narrow the issues for hearing and to identify uncontested elements that can be removed from the trial agenda.

The Section 18 hearing may be presided over by a judge, the Master of the High Court, a Deputy Master, or a nominated officer in the High Court. In the Circuit Court, a judge of the Circuit Court, the County Registrar, or Circuit Court Office staff may preside. The Section 18 hearing is supplementary to the court's general directions powers, which are most often exercised under Order 49A RSC. In contested clinical negligence cases under HC132, the Judge in Charge will frequently use Section 18 powers in combination with Order 49A directions to drive structured trial preparation.

Practitioner note: Section 18 hearings are most useful where the parties disagree on the scope of expert evidence, where liability and quantum may be split, or where preliminary trials of distinct issues might shorten the substantive hearing.

Read more: Section 18, Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004.

What happens to the formal offer window after notice of trial?

The prescribed period for Section 17 formal offers ends 14 days after service of the notice of trial. Offers made within the prescribed period are taken into account by the trial judge when costs fall to be decided.

Section 17 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 is supplemented by the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 (Section 17) Order 2005. Both sides must exchange offers within a prescribed period (or, for the defendant, a statement that no offer is being made). The Civil Liability (Amendment) Act 2017 added detailed structure for catastrophic-injury cases. Offers in those cases must specify the proportion of any settlement attributable to future medical treatment, future care, assistive technology and lost earnings. The court is shielded from the content of offers until judgment. The offers therefore operate as a costs-discipline mechanism rather than a negotiation device.

Practitioner note: A Section 17 offer is not the same as a lodgment or tender under Order 22 RSC. Lodgments operate by payment into court; Section 17 offers operate by written notice. Both affect costs, but through different mechanisms.

Read more: See our forthcoming guide to lodgments and tender offers.

How does the Kirwan delay test apply to a case that has already been set down?

The Kirwan sliding scale applies to cumulative inactivity, whether before or after notice of trial. A case that is set down but then sits on the list with no progress accrues delay just as a case that has not yet been set down does.

The Supreme Court in Kirwan v Connors [2025] IESC 21 emphasised that the relevant measure is the cumulative period of complete inactivity by the plaintiff, viewed in the context of the proceedings as a whole. The High Court in Doyle v Commissioner of An Garda Síochána [2025] IEHC 591 confirmed that the two, four, and five-year periods in the sliding scale need not immediately precede the application to dismiss. A case that has been listed but then drifts without active progression on either side is therefore at risk. Plaintiff solicitors typically take affirmative steps (updates, supplementary reports, list communications) to evidence continued prosecution while awaiting a hearing date.

Practitioner note: Where a hearing date is vacated and not promptly relisted, the period between vacation and relisting counts toward the cumulative inactivity total. Application for a fresh listing should be made without delay.

Read more: The full Kirwan v Connors judgment is available on courts.ie.

Can a notice of trial be withdrawn once served?

Under Order 36, rule 20 of the Rules of the Superior Courts, a notice of trial may be countermanded only by consent of the parties or by leave of the court. A unilateral withdrawal without consent or leave is not permitted.

The practical consequence is that a plaintiff who serves a notice of trial prematurely cannot simply revoke it to buy time. The plaintiff may seek the defendant's written consent to countermand, in which case the notice is treated as not having been served. Where consent is refused, the plaintiff must either set the case down within the 14-day window or allow the notice to expire by operation of Order 36, rule 18 RSC, which has the same effect as countermand but without a formal record. In the Circuit Court the position is governed by Order 33, with analogous provisions for consent-based countermand.

Practitioner note: Repeated countermand or expiry of notices can itself ground a Kirwan-style delay application, so the practice is to serve only when readiness is genuine.

Read more: See Order 36 RSC on courts.ie.

What happens to a notice of trial if the case settles before the hearing?

The plaintiff notifies the registrar of the relevant list that the action has settled and the case is removed from the list. A formal order striking out the proceedings on settlement terms is typically obtained at the next available callover or by consent letter to the Chief Registrar.

Practice Direction HC132 (Clinical Negligence List) and the operational practice of the Dublin Personal Injuries List both require prompt settlement notification so that the listed hearing slot can be reallocated. Failure to notify timely settlement wastes court resources and may attract judicial comment, although it does not usually result in costs sanctions on the parties. The settlement order itself disposes of the action; the notice of trial spent its procedural purpose when the case was set down.

Practitioner note: Settlement letters to the Chief Registrar should specify the title, record number, and the form of order sought (typically strike-out on settlement terms with liberty to apply).

Read more: See our guide on settling versus going to trial.

Who pays the setting down docket fee?

The party setting the action down for trial pays the €250 setting down docket stamp duty at the Central Office. Almost invariably this is the plaintiff. No separate fee is charged on the notice of trial itself in the High Court.

The fee is recoverable as part of the plaintiff's party-and-party costs if the plaintiff succeeds at trial or on settlement. Where the defendant has been compelled to serve a notice of trial in the plaintiff's place under Order 36, rule 12 RSC, the defendant pays the fee in the first instance and may seek to recover it as part of any costs order made against the plaintiff. The fee is statutory and is set by the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court (Fees) Order 2014 (S.I. No. 492 of 2014), Part 4, item 18, as amended from time to time.

Practitioner note: Fees should be confirmed against the operative Court Fees Order at lodgement, as rates are periodically amended by ministerial order.

Read more: See courts.ie setting down docket guide.

How is a trial date allocated in a provincial High Court venue?

Provincial High Court personal injury cases are allocated trial dates at periodic sittings published in advance. The judge in charge of the relevant sittings holds a callover at which cases are confirmed, and dates are then set for hearing during the sittings period.

The provincial sittings calendar covers Cork, Galway, Limerick (including Ennis sittings), Sligo, Dundalk, and Waterford/Kilkenny, among others. Each venue's schedule is published by the Courts Service in advance of the legal year, and parties confirm attendance at the pre-sittings callover. Because provincial sittings are periodic rather than rolling, the wait from being ready to actual hearing depends on the published calendar; cases that miss a sittings will typically wait until the next one. The 21-day notice of trial period applies in provincial venues just as in Dublin.

Practitioner note: Where a provincial hearing date is at risk of slipping past a sittings, the application is either to apply for a Dublin transfer (rare and discretionary) or to await the next sittings, with continued evidence of active prosecution to manage Kirwan exposure.

Read more: See the Courts Service High Court lists page for current sittings.

Glossary of Procedural Terms

Twelve terms recur throughout this article and across the Irish personal injury court process. The definitions below are intended as a quick-reference resource for Irish practitioners and claimants. Each term is also explained in context in the relevant section above.

Notice of Trial

A formal document served by the plaintiff (or, in default, the defendant) declaring that pleadings have closed and the action is ready for hearing. In the Irish High Court the prescribed form is Form 18A; in the Circuit and District Courts notice is served in the form prescribed by the relevant rules.

Setting Down

The act of lodging the notice of trial together with the pleadings and the setting down docket in the Central Office (High Court) or the Circuit Court Office. Setting down is a separate procedural step from service of notice; in the High Court it must occur within 14 days of service or the notice expires.

Setting Down Docket

The High Court form lodged with the Central Office that places the action in the trial queue. Carries a €250 stamp duty (S.I. 492/2014, Part 4, item 18); no separate fee is charged on the notice of trial. Must identify the case, intended duration of trial, and any technological requirements.

Form 18A

The prescribed High Court Notice of Trial (Personal Injuries) form, published in Appendix A to the Rules of the Superior Courts. Identifies action title, record number, intended venue, and trial duration estimate.

Callover

A hybrid listing event at which the judge in charge of the relevant list (or the County Registrar in the Circuit Court) calls each case in turn to confirm readiness for hearing. Cases that are not ready or where neither party appears may have the notice of trial struck out.

Section 18 Pre-Trial Hearing

A hearing held under section 18 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 before the trial of the action to determine which matters are in dispute. Presided over by a judge, the Master, a Deputy Master, or a nominated officer (High Court), or by a Circuit Court judge or County Registrar (Circuit Court).

Certificate of Compliance

A written certificate signed by a solicitor (or by an unrepresented party) under Practice Direction HC131 confirming, in a clinical negligence action, that all listed pre-trial readiness conditions have been met. Required to obtain a trial date in the Clinical Negligence List.

Dublin Personal Injuries List

The dedicated High Court list for personal injury actions in Dublin. Managed by the judge in charge of the list, with dates allocated on email request to PIhighCourt@courts.ie or at callover.

Clinical Negligence List

A ring-fenced sub-list within the Dublin Personal Injuries List, established by Practice Direction HC132 with effect from 28 April 2025. Presided over by a designated Judge in Charge experienced in clinical negligence work.

Section 17 Formal Offer

A written notice of an offer of terms of settlement (plaintiff) or a notice of an offer or statement that no payment is offered (defendant), served under section 17 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004. The prescribed period for service ends 14 days after service of the notice of trial.

Verifying Affidavit

An affidavit sworn under section 14 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 verifying any pleading containing assertions of fact. Must be sworn within 21 days of service of the pleading or such longer period as the court allows.

Strike Out for Want of Prosecution

The court's dismissal of proceedings on grounds of plaintiff inactivity. Available under Order 27 RSC (procedural default), Order 122 rule 11 RSC (two-year inactivity), or under the inherent jurisdiction sliding scale established by Kirwan v Connors [2025] IESC 21.

References

1. Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004, Act No. 31 of 2004 (Office of the Attorney General, irishstatutebook.ie)
2. Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 (Revised), Law Reform Commission consolidation, updated to 2 September 2024
3. S.I. No. 355 of 2012, Rules of the Superior Courts (Trial) 2012
4. S.I. No. 391 of 1998, Rules of the Superior Courts (No. 6) (Disclosure of Reports and Statements) 1998
5. S.I. No. 169 of 2005, Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 (Section 17) Order 2005
6. S.I. No. 94 of 2009, Circuit Court Rules (Personal Injuries) 2009
7. S.I. No. 17 of 2014, District Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2014
8. Order 36, Rules of the Superior Courts (Trial), courts.ie
9. Order 33, Circuit Court Rules (Trial), courts.ie
10. Practice Direction HC131, Clinical Negligence Actions: Applications for Trial Dates, effective 28 April 2025, courts.ie
11. Practice Direction HC132, Clinical Negligence List, effective 28 April 2025, courts.ie
12. Practice Direction HC104, Remote Platform Hearings, Dublin Personal Injuries List, effective 7 April 2021
13. Kirwan v Connors & Ors [2025] IESC 21, Supreme Court of Ireland judgment
14. Murphy v Aer Lingus Group plc [2025] IEHC 589, High Court of Ireland
15. Doyle v Commissioner of An Garda Síochána [2025] IEHC 591, High Court of Ireland
16. Primor plc v Stokes Kennedy Crowley [1996] 2 IR 459, Supreme Court of Ireland
17. Citizens Information, High Court procedures
18. Citizens Information, Circuit Court procedures
19. Law Society of Ireland, Dublin Circuit Court: Information to Accompany Notices of Trial
20. Law Society of Ireland, New Disclosure Rules in High Court Personal Injury Actions