Ms Angela Denning:

Naas Courthouse was built in approximately 1807. It has four courtrooms. Two of them are technology courts. The court sits there 14 days in the month. It has two cells. There has been significant population growth in north Kildare. Our plans certainly are to provide a new or refurbished courthouse in Naas. It is included in our plans in the national development plan but no specific funding for Naas has been provided yet for the project. It is not possible to provide the full range of facilities we would wish to provide in a modern courthouse on the current site due to its constrained nature. The options open to us are to extend the site, and there is a site available at the back of the courthouse, or to provide a new courthouse somewhere else in the town. We have consulted with Kildare County Council's director of services, planning and strategic development. The council's preference, as is ours, is to keep the courthouse in the town centre location. We are actively engaging with site vendors at present so I would rather not say any more at this point in time.