Skip to content

Juries in Ireland: An Analysis of Representativeness and Public Confidence in Jury Comprehension and Fairness

Thank you for taking the time to participate in this survey. The survey takes approximately 20 minutes to complete.

This survey explores public perceptions of the representativeness of juries, the level of knowledge amongst the general public of the grounds upon which a person may be excused from jury service and the level of public confidence in jury comprehension and fairness in relation to criminal trials in Ireland. Your responses will contribute to academic research examining the functioning and fairness of the jury system in Ireland.

The information you provide is being collected as part of a dissertation to be submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the masters level degree of LLM in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin. The information will be used solely for academic research purposes and will not be shared outside the context of this dissertation and academic articles related to or expanding upon the dissertation findings.

Residents of Ireland are invited to participate in this survey until the closing date of 14 June 2026. No further responses can be accepted after that date. Participants may make amendments to their survey answers up until the closing date.

Participation in this survey is entirely voluntary. The survey is completed anonymously, and no personal data, names, email addresses, IP addresses or other identifying details are collected. Demographic data is requested solely for categorisation purposes only.

All data will be stored in encrypted form in accordance with SurveyMonkey's data storage and privacy policies.
By proceeding to complete this survey, you confirm that:

1) you are 18 years or older;
2) you are resident in Ireland; and
3) you freely and voluntarily consent to participate in this research.

If you do not wish to participate you may exit the survey at any time before submission. Thank you for your valuable contribution to this research.
Section 1 of 4 Demographic Information (Questions 1-8)
Demographic information provided in this section is intended to allow the categorisation and comparison of the answers across different locations, genders, educational achievement levels and occupations.
1.Please indicate your age category
2.Please indicate which sex you are
3.What is your residency status?
4.Are you registered on the Register of Electors for Dáil Elections?
5.Which County do you live in?
6.What is your highest level of educational attainment to date?
7.Which Occupation Categories apply to you? (please select all that apply)
8.What is your Area of Occupation or Profession? (Please indicate the most closely associated category in which you are currently employed or if retired were formerly employed)
Section 2 of 4 Jury Composition (Question 9 - 21)
The questions in this section relate to the representativeness of jury panels in criminal trials in Ireland and your understanding of the categories of people who are excluded automatically or upon request from jury service. Please note that a jury panel is the group of people summoned for jury service.
9.Are you aware that only citizens of Ireland and Britain who are resident in Ireland and over the age of 18 AND who are registered on the Register of Electors are entitled to be called for jury service?
10.Are you a member of any of the following categories?
11.Are you aware that all of the people who fall into one of the categories in Question 10 above, are automatically ineligible or disqualified from serving on a jury in Ireland?
12.Do you fall within one of the following categories (select all that apply)
13.Are you aware that all of the people who fall into one or more of the categories in Question 12 above are entitled to be automatically excused from jury service?
14.Are you aware that the Courts Service has a discretionary power to excuse people from jury service who are not included in a category in Question 12 above, upon receiving a request for excusal?
15.If summoned for jury service, would you apply to be excused?
16.On what grounds would you apply to be excused? Where you would not apply to be excused please respond N/A
17.Would the length of the trial influence your decision to ask to be excused?
18.What length of trial would cause you to ask to be excused?
19.Given the number of categories of people who are ineligible or entitled to be excused from jury service, do you believe that jury pools in Ireland are representative?
20.Has your opinion about the representativeness of jury panels in Ireland changed as a result of taking this survey?
21.If your opinion about representativeness has changed, please briefly explain why and in what manner your opinion has changed. If your opinion has not changed please respond N/A.
Section 3 of 4 Jury Service (Questions 22 - 30)
These questions relate to persons who have been summoned for jury service in the criminal courts. If you have not been summoned for jury service please respond N/A to questions 23-30.
22.Have you ever received a jury summons to attend jury service in the Criminal Courts (please answer No if you received a summons to attend jury service in relation to defamation (libel/slander) or other civil offences). Please note that a jury summons in a criminal trial would have directed you to attend at the Criminal Court and not the Four Courts.
23.Did you apply or ask to be excused from jury service?
24.On what grounds did you apply to be excused from jury service?
25.Were you excused from jury service?
26.If you became a member of the jury panel, where you selected for a jury?
27.What category of offence did you serve on a jury in relation to?
28.Did an expert witness or witnesses give evidence during the trial? An expert witness is a witness such as a doctor, forensic scientist or other professional who has specialist knowledge or skills that qualifies them to present their opinion about the facts of the case.
29.Do you believe that the evidence furnished by the expert witness was readily understood by all members of the jury?
30.If you do not believe that the evidence furnished by the expert witness was readily understood by all members of the jury please explain why you reached this conclusion.
Section 4 of 4 Your Opinion (Questions 31-33)
The following section is intended to assess your opinion in relation to jury composition, jury comprehension and the potential effects on trial fairness.
31.Please indicate on the scale below whether you agree or disagree with the following statements
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither Agree nor Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
The use of juries in the criminal justice system is important
People who are ineligible for jury service (judges, lawyers, etc. listed in question 10) should be entitled to serve on a jury
People should not be disqualified from jury service because of prior convictions
People should not be entitled to be excused from jury service automatically unless they have an illness or disability or are a carer for a person with an illness or disability
A set amount of compensation for loss of earnings should be paid to persons who would otherwise loose out on basic income as a result of serving on a jury
All people legally resident in Ireland should be obliged to undertake jury service irrespective of their citizenship or whether they are registered on the Register of Electors
Only people who are citizens of Ireland and Britain and resident in Ireland, should be entitled to undertake jury service
Only people who are registered on the Register of Electors should be entitled to undertake jury service
32.Please indicate on the scale below whether you Agree or Disagree with the following statements
Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Neither Agree nor Disagree
Agree
Agree Strongly
I am confident that if I was a juror, I would be able to understand all of the evidence presented to the jury irrespective of how complicated or nuanced that evidence is (for example the interpretation of complicated accounting or engineering regulations or statistical analysis)
If I was accused of a crime, I am confident that the jury would be able to understand all of the evidence presented at the trial
If I was accused of a crime involving complicated technical or nuanced evidence (for example the interpretation of complicated accounting or engineering regulations or statistical analysis or technical information relevant to your particular occupation), I am confident that the jury would be able to understand all of the evidence presented at the trial
Where a trial includes complicated technical or nuanced evidence (for example the interpretation of complicated accounting or engineering regulations or statistical analysis) a jury of specialists should be empaneled to assist the judge in place of a usual jury
Where a trial includes complicated technical or nuanced evidence (for example the interpretation of complicated accounting or engineering regulations or statistical analysis) an independent specialist should be made available to the jury during deliberations
Deficiencies in representativeness in jury composition increase the risk of miscarriages of justice in criminal trials
Deficiencies in representativeness in jury composition increase the risk of miscarriages of justice in criminal trials involving complicated technical or nuanced evidence (for example the interpretation of complicated accounting or engineering regulations or statistical analysis)
33.Is there anything you would like to add to this survey in respect to the representativeness of jury panels, comprehension of juries or the effects jury composition might have on the fairness of criminal trials?