Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It does not matter where the Courts Service building committee sits. It is chaired by the Chief Justice and the presidents of the various courts have input into it. The Courts Service is for the whole of the country; it is not a Dublin-based committee. There was extensive consultation with stakeholders including an Garda Síochána. It is about ensuring that in the current economic climate we maintain a sound Courts Service and that people have access to it but it is done in a manner which is careful with resources. This is an obligation that, unfortunately, our predecessors were not always very conscious of in the arrangements they made on a broad range of areas.

The Government is conscious of the value of providing for an excellent courts system and has continued to provide substantial resources for the service. Last year, a Supplementary Estimate of €5 million was given to it, on top of the original net budget of €54.1 million.

No area can be exempt from the financial constraints of the past few years. While funding has been cut in common with every area within the justice sector, it has been possible to press ahead with some aspects of the capital programme by way of public private partnerships. The Government’s infrastructures stimulus package announced last year includes the development of seven new county-town courthouse projects in Waterford, Wexford, Cork, Limerick, Drogheda, Letterkenny and Mullingar. There is no question of centralising our courts in Dublin.

The board, however, has had to take unpalatable decisions to close several smaller non-viable venues elsewhere. The continuing investment in the county-town venues will facilitate the introduction of more efficient work processes, prisoner transports, allowing the other criminal justice agencies to continue to provide front-line services with reduced staffing levels that are essential nowadays.

I am conscious of the Deputy’s concern to ensure a full and proper Courts Service is available to the people of Mayo. I am committed to that too and I thank her for raising this issue. Ultimately, the final decision-makers with regard to court venues are the Courts Service. Having engaged in a consultative process, it is for it to determine what changes should be implemented with regard to court venues.

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