Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It has come to my attention in recent days that it is the intention of the Courts Service to move sittings of District Court No. 20 in Mallow, County Cork, and centralise those services in Cork city. I wish to express my grave concern at such a move, given that the District Court in Mallow serves a large geographical area that extends as far as the County Kerry border and north to County Limerick. If it is the case that the Courts Service's intention is to move District Court sittings to Cork city, it will have a massive impact on the administration of justice in the region I represent. I say that because Mallow hosts sittings in respect of criminal and civil proceedings on the first, second, third and fourth Tuesday of each month. It also hosts juvenile and family cases on the first Wednesday of each month and childcare and HSE proceedings on the second Wednesday of each month.

I am given to understand the sittings will move to Washington Street in Cork city. I am also given to understand that the Courts Service administration will be retained in Mallow. I am deeply worried that it is now Courts Service policy to centralise more and more District Court sittings. This is happening without any proper scrutiny of that policy. We are very limited in what we can do to scrutinise that. The only opportunity Deputies have to do so is to raise it as a Topical Issue matter because we are told the Courts Service is independent, as it should be. We acknowledge that and there is no question about it. There are issues, however, relating to the administration of justice. I am particularly concerned about the family courts and the seeking of specific orders. For instance, if a woman, and it is largely women, comes before the court to seek protection regarding a domestic or gender-based violence issue, that service will not be available at the most local level within the District Court. That person will now be forced to go to Cork city and may not be in a position to do so. I am genuinely worried - this happened in Youghal and is now happening in Mallow - that there is no scrutiny of what the Courts Service is doing.

I ask the Minister of State to use his good offices to intervene with the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, if at all possible. The Minister has put particular emphasis on combating gender-based violence and has acknowledged the "stark", to use her word, domestic violence figures that exist in this country. If we remove the ability of people to get access to the courts at the most local level through District Court sittings and force them to travel further to seek justice and to interface with the administration of justice, that is a poor showing on the part of the Courts Service. I ask the Government at least to intervene to ensure the District Court sittings at Mallow will continue to be hosted there.

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