John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing this matter to be raised. I will be sharing time with Deputy Scanlon. Both of us see the importance of court in Ballymote that has served the people of the area for up to 100 years. I am glad to have the opportunity to raise this matter of the utmost importance.

It has come to light that the Courts Service of Ireland is considering closing Ballymote District Court on a permanent basis as part of its cost cutting measures. I want to make it clear to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, that any such attempt at closure of Ballymote District Court would be a retrograde step of the most serious nature. Furthermore, such a proposal makes absolutely no economic sense. Some €4.8 million has been spent on the construction and provision of a new Garda station in Ballymote, which is the district Garda headquarters, on which I compliment the Government. The new station has state-of-the-art prisoner accommodation, which includes a new juvenile detention centre, the only one of its kind in the entire Garda division of Sligo-Leitrim. Juvenile offenders from all parts of the division who are placed in custody are detained in the Ballymote facility.

There is a 24-hour garda presence, together with new traffic corps and detective unit, with offices and facilities in place to accommodate the upgraded status of Ballymote Garda station. It also houses the only divisional store for the Sligo-Leitrim division.

Cyprian Brady (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy has one minute remaining.

John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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In this context, the removal of Ballymote District Court from the town would be a decision of the most short-sighted and ludicrous nature. It would clearly undermine and interfere with the smooth operation of the Garda station. There is no joined-up thinking in this regard. It would take gardaí away from their communities for unnecessarily long periods of time and undermine the concept of community policing.

The Courts Service proposes that Ballymote District Court would either be moved to Sligo or sit in Tubbercurry, amalgamated with Tubbercurry District Court. As Deputy Scanlon will agree, this is a very large district. If the court moves to Sligo, all of the gardaí based in Ballymote district would have to travel to Sligo to have their cases heard, resulting in considerable expense to the State in respect of travel, overtime and subsistence, which makes no sense whatever.

The proposal to merge Ballymote and Tubbercurry District Courts is a totally unviable solution. With the abolition in recent times of Riverstown District Court and the inclusion of additional court areas in Ballymote, there has been a great increase in the number of cases being dealt with.

Cyprian Brady (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy's time has expired.

John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I ask the Acting Chairman to let me finish, please. While upgrade works are clearly required on Ballymote court facilities, at a time when more than €200 million has been spent on a new criminal court building in Dublin, €50,000 is all it would take to bring Ballymote's court facility back to acceptable standards.

This proposal from the Courts Service has clearly not been thought through. It is an attempt at short-sighted book-keeping due to budgetary shortfalls. I can assure the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that any proposal to remove Ballymote District Court would completely undermine the status of the town and will be met by the sternest of opposition. This evening I call for a meeting with the director of the Courts Service along with Deputy Scanlon and representatives of the legal profession to ensure that this closure will not happen.

Cyprian Brady (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I call Deputy Scanlon, who has 1.5 minutes.

Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-North Leitrim, Independent)
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I take it that the Acting Chairman will give me a little bit of grace on this issue.

John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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What is an extra minute here this evening?

Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-North Leitrim, Independent)
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It is an important issue and I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on it. As Deputy Perry said, Ballymote court has been operating for more than 100 years. Quite recently a new Garda headquarters was built in Ballymote at a cost of almost €5 million. At the moment there are 34 gardaí, four sergeants and one superintendent. It covers a vast area from Enniscrone right across to Carrick-on-Shannon in the south. The courts operate on every second Tuesday and, at certain times of the year, every fourth Tuesday, with a total of 18 court sittings per year. The last court sitting in Ballymote started at 11 a.m. and finished at 7 p.m., which indicates the level of activity owing to the number of courts that have been moved to the Ballymote area.

I understand the court is proposed to be closed for cost-saving reasons. It is important to point out that the Courts Service is totally independent of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. While I have heard of many cost-saving proposals, this is the most ludicrous I have heard in my time in politics for the past 21 years. When the courts move, the gardaí will need to move with the court, which will mean overtime payments for those gardaí who will need to travel to Tubbercurry or Sligo. It will cost substantially more than the savings expected to be made with the current proposals.

The new Garda station has cells and a juvenile detention centre - the only one of its kind in the county. To move the court away from where we have these services and facilities would be a backward step. I implore the Minister to use whatever influence he has to try to get these people to see some sense. Funding should be made available for the upgrade of what is a very historic building in the town, which will go into disrepair without such funding.

Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern. I thank Deputies Perry and Scanlon for raising this important issue.

The Minister would like to state, from the outset, that the Courts Service, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, is responsible for the operational management and maintenance of courthouse facilities and, as Minister, he has no function in respect of courthouse accommodation. Court venues around the country are being reviewed by the Courts Service as part of an overall review of the management and structures of the service and its use of resources. The review applies criteria including facilities for court users, demographic changes, levels of business, proximity to other venues and the standard of court accommodation in the venue under consideration as well as the proposed alternate venue. The review is being carried out in the context of the current economic climate and the budgetary and staffing constraints under which the Courts Service is operating. The overall objective of the review is to ensure that resources are deployed to best effect, optimum services are provided to court users, courts sit in venues with appropriate facilities and value for money is achieved.

The Minister is informed by the Courts Service that no decision has yet been taken on Ballymote courthouse. With regard to the impact on Garda resources it should be noted that at present when the court sits in a given venue all of the gardaí who have business before the court must be at the court. When venues are amalgamated, the court business can be spread over several different days in the new venue so any negative impact on the number of gardaí available for duty could actually be decreased. Generally the business can be assimilated into the list in the new venue so the pressure on all gardaí to be available for the same day can be reduced. The Minister has been informed by the Garda Commissioner that as of 31 January 2010, the personnel strength of the Ballymote Garda district was 46. The personnel strength of that district at the end of January 2008 was 35, that is, an increase of over 30% in the last two years.

Ballymote forms part of the Sligo-Leitrim division and, as at 31 January 2010, the strength of that division was 317. In addition, divisional resources are augmented where necessary by a number of Garda national units such as the Garda Traffic Unit, Garda National Drugs Unit, the Garda National Immigration Bureau, the Criminal Assets Bureau and other specialised units.

It is the responsibility of the Garda divisional officer to allocate personnel within his or her division. Notwithstanding this, the level of Garda personnel assigned throughout the country, together with overall policing arrangements and operational strategy, are continually monitored and reviewed. Such monitoring ensures that optimum use is made of Garda resources, and the best possible Garda service is provided to the general public.

It is the responsibility of the Garda Commissioner to allocate personnel throughout the force taking everything into account and the situation in the Ballymote Garda district will be kept under review. The Minister is advised by the Garda authorities that local Garda management is satisfied that a full and comprehensive policing service is being delivered to the communities within the Ballymote Garda district.