Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

Monaghan County Council submitted an application to the Department in June 2006 for sanction to take out a loan to fund essential repairs to Castleblayney courthouse. At the time the county council wished to secure the building's external fabric and prevent further deterioration. However, the county council subsequently decided to re-examine it proposals for the courthouse and engaged consultants to prepare a feasibility study on the cost of refurbishing it as a civic centre to provide accommodation for the existing courthouse, offices for Castleblayney Town Council and possibly a branch library for the town.

Having regard to the requirements of the Courts Service, the consultants noted that the floor area available in the building would be entirely taken up by the needs of the court and that it would not be possible to accommodate the town council in the same building. As a result of this finding, I understand that the county manager wrote directly to the Courts Service seeking to have Castleblayney courthouse included in the national courthouse renovation programme. The Courts Service responded to the effect that the cost of restoring the courthouse solely for court use would be prohibitive. In its current capital building programme, the Courts Service is prioritising the refurbishment of county town venues and in this regard, Monaghan courthouse is currently under refurbishment. In the view of the Courts Service, it would be substantially cheaper to provide the necessary court accommodation in Castleblayney on a greenfield site which would cost approximately half the cost of renovation of the existing courthouse. The Courts Service has indicated that on this basis and when funds become available, provision of the necessary court facilities on a greenfield site is most likely to be the option pursued in this regard.

Should Monaghan County Council wish to pursue further its application to take out a loan to fund the reconstruction of the courthouse, the Department will consider the application in due course, having regard to Monaghan County Council's own financial position and the national position with respect to the general Government balance. In this context, all loan applications received from local authorities must be considered according to their priority. It is of paramount importance that Ireland adheres to the rules set out in the EU Stability and Growth Pact and in this regard there are limitations on the overall scale of local government borrowing in any single year. Within those terms I must prioritise the most crucial projects and investments across the local government sector. Any renewed application by Monaghan County Council in respect of Castleblayney courthouse will be considered by the Department within these parameters.

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