Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We have had a broad tapestry presented by the witnesses. I will depart from some of my colleagues in that I will not speak from a parochial perspective because I am very glad to say we have a very fine courthouse in Wexford. From an architectural and aesthetic perspective, it arose from the merging of an old schoolhouse that was then a county building into a very modern building. It is a terrific example.

I will take a more general view and my first question is to the Courts Service. In the written and oral submission, it submitted the legacy that 20 years ago, when the Courts Service was established, it had more than 240 venues. It now has 103, with 251 courtrooms. The built infrastructure is extraordinarily important but surely the number one priority of the Courts Service is the administration of justice in as positive, open, fair and accessible a way as possible. Accessibility is absolutely essential and there should be security so that victims do not have to sit or come into contact with alleged perpetrators. There is also the question of general comfort.

Has the Courts Service determined the optimum number of courthouses and their position across the country? Sometimes we must make hard decisions like that. If we have courthouses that are used once per month, it is a bad use of scarce resources. Does the service have a blueprint of the optimum number and location of courthouses?