The Government has approved plans to increase the number of judges in the Court of Appeal.

Currently, the court - which was established in 2014 following a referendum the previously year - has nine ordinary judges and a president.

Under the proposals, the number of ordinary judges would increase to 15.

It comes amid significant waiting times in the court - six months for criminal cases, or 20 months for civil cases.

The court was initially established in a bid to cut down on the workload of the Supreme Court - but concerns have been raised over the lengthy wait times in the new court.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan says he's 'delighted' the Government has approved the proposal, and says there's a 'strong and compelling' case for more resources for the court.

He observed: "It is clear that the Court of Appeal has a very significant volume of work, both in terms of the inherited caseload it received from the Supreme Court on establishment of the new court in 2014, as well as the volume of new cases it is receiving.

"I am concerned that with the current waiting times, the Court of Appeal may soon be facing a similar level of delay to that of the Supreme Court prior to 2014 which stood at over four years."

The proposal to increase the number of judges will have to pass through the Oireachtas before it can be implemented, with a justice committee now set to examine the plan before a final bill is published.