Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to address this ongoing need for the development of a four-court campus in Wicklow town. By way of background, I have been writing about this issue since 2011. In February 2013, I and my four colleagues wrote to the then Minister of State, Brian Hayes, Mr. Brendan Ryan at the office of the Courts Service and Mr. Gerry Nugent. We have also written to the former Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, and the current Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald. Nine or ten years ago, a decision was taken by the Courts Service to develop a four-court campus in Wicklow town at the location of the old courts. One of the two courts already there is Victorian and has been used for filming and advertisements through the offices of Wicklow Film Commission.

Wicklow town is the county administrative town and to this end the Courts Service purchased the adjacent library with a view to expansion. The economic conditions which have since overwhelmed everybody, in particular public bodies such as the Courts Service, have meant this has been put on the long finger, although it remains an objective of the Courts Service to proceed. As it stands, there has been a gradual movement of court services from Wicklow to Bray, which has a facility that is expensive and totally inadequate. The reason it is expensive is a legacy issue about which we cannot do much. It is not a long-term option for the county's court services to remain in Bray. Whatever about having a local district court there, this is as much as it should be expected to provide.

I tabled a parliamentary question to the Minister because I felt the capital development programme will mean many people will make requests, but if we are not in and if we do not keep the pressure on, we certainly will not be successful. The response I received stated that while the Courts Service has not been in a position in recent years to proceed with its plans for Wicklow courthouse, it is committed to the development of the courthouse.

It is reviewing its capital investment proposals in light of the recent publication of Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2016-2021.

I urge that this project be put on a priority list. We have waited eight years since the development process was stopped and I remember speaking at the time to the then county registrar, who said that they had all the required property adjacent to the court and they could proceed with the project in the planning stage. It is a shame as this could complement Wicklow Gaol, which is now a famous tourist attraction. This could develop the tourist offering in that part of the town. Historically, people were arrested, brought to the gaol and court before usually being sentenced to penal servitude in Van Diemen's Land. They were moved to either Dún Laoghaire or Cobh for deportation. There is a history and, in addition to the other reasons I outlined, it is why I tabled this matter.

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