Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that Deputy Doyle has put down what is a very important Topical Issue. I acknowledge the efforts of Deputy Doyle and the Minister of State, Deputy Simon Harris, on this issue. I encourage further engagement with the Courts Service regarding the capital plan and the allocation of resources that we have available. As I explained, it is important to note that the Courts Service has stated its commitment to redeveloping and reopening Wicklow town courthouse. The courthouse building and surrounding lands are in the ownership of the Courts Service, although it was, unfortunately, not in a position in recent years to proceed with its plans. However, it is reviewing its capital investment proposals now in light of the recent publication of the Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2016-2021, to which I have referred.

The Minister has been assured that the matter will be kept under review, having regard to the available resources. We now have opportunities that were not available before and I sure Deputy Doyle and his colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Harris, will be pursuing this vigorously and engaging with the Courts Service to achieve their objectives.

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