Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 45: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the court houses across the country that are due to be closed by the Courts Service; the reasons for each proposed closure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31121/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy should be aware, the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998 conferred sole responsibility on the Courts Service for management of courts and, as Minister, I have no role in the matter. Section 4(3) of the 1998 Act provides that the service is independent in the performance of its functions, which includes the provision, maintenance and management of court buildings and provision of facilities for court users.

I have, however, had inquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that in the current financial climate all court venues are kept under continuing review. A number of qualitative criteria are applied to each venue, including case count, condition of the building, proximity of local gardaí, number of sittings per annum and so forth. The service endeavours to ensure, in so far as possible, that venues have cell accommodation available in order to reduce Prison Service escort costs as well as meeting the standard that court users are entitled to expect while also considering the efficiency of the particular court.

The Courts Service board decided at its meeting on 17 October last to approve the closing of the following district courthouses: Ballymote which will be amalgamated with Sligo; Boyle which will be amalgamated with Carrick-on-Shannon - the Circuit Court also sits from time to time in Boyle and these sittings will now take place in Roscommon; Templemore which will be amalgamated with Thurles; Kiltimagh and Claremorris in County Mayo which will be amalgamated with Castlebar. I understand the District Court has not sat in Claremorris since 2009 and that its business has been heard in Kiltimagh. I am informed that the business of all three venues will in future be heard in Castlebar.

While there are no courthouses in Castleisland and Athenry, the Courts Service has informed me that those District Courts sit in very unsuitable premises and will also be relocated. With the exception of Castleisland, which is due to close on 1 December, it is intended that the other closures will take effect early in 2012. In this context it should be noted that the board, over the past 12 years, has amalgamated 140 District Court areas.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The Courts Service has informed me that decisions to close a particular venue are generally taken due to its poor conditions, some of which present a health and safety risk which would cost a great deal to rectify. The absence of holding cells in a number of cases is also a factor. However, achieving greater efficiencies, particularly with regard to freeing up judicial staff and Garda time currently spent travelling between venues, is also a consideration. I am informed that this rationalisation policy has gained operational efficiencies, saves time and improves speed of access to justice.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister does not have direct responsibility for the Courts Service, but the service is responsible to the Minister and this House for its budget. I wish to raise a number of concerns that have been expressed about the specific closures outlined by the Minister. First, the users were not consulted. Even though they are represented on the board of the Courts Service the day-to-day users of the courts concerned, that is, the solicitors and judges who work in the courts, were not consulted in advance. Second, when they were consulted they were told, particularly regarding the closure of Kiltimagh, that it was being done for efficiency reasons, not cost saving reasons. When Deputy O'Mahony raised this issue with the Minister last week, the Minister undertook to find out if a cost-benefit analysis for the closure of Kiltimagh had been prepared to measure the extra costs that would be incurred. This would equally apply to Ballymote, Boyle, Templemore and the other venues. There are the extra costs for gardaí travelling, prison issues and extra subsistence costs. Has the Minister found out if those analyses were prepared and will they be published or put before the Oireachtas committee on justice?

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Courts Service has informed me that decisions to close a venue are generally taken due to its poor conditions, some of which present a health and safety risk which would cost a great deal to rectify. The absence of holding cells is a factor in a number of cases. However, achieving greater efficiencies, particularly in freeing up judicial staff and Garda time currently spent travelling between venues, is also a consideration. I am informed that this rationalisation policy has gained operational efficiencies, saves time and improves speed of access to justice. The same matters have informed the consideration given to the closures I mentioned. By achieving efficiencies, one effects savings and one ensures, at a time when there is limited resources, that those resources are used to the best extent in the interests of taxpayers.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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One of the concerns expressed is that there is no rural representation on the building sub-committee of the Courts Service. The venues that are being closed, as outlined by the Minister, are all in rural areas. This will put an extra mileage burden on people to get access to justice. Can the Minister bring the concern about the lack of rural representation on the building sub-committee of the Courts Service to the notice of the Courts Service and ask it to address it?

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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If there is no rural representation on the building sub-committee of the Courts Service, it was calibrated during the term of my predecessor when the Fianna Fáil and Green Party Government was in office. I will certainly inquire into that issue. The Deputy was correct when he said earlier that the Courts Service is independent but that it must report to me. It falls within the envelope of the Department of Justice and Equality in the context of the funding available to the Courts Service. The Courts Service, like all other bodies, is under an obligation to effect efficiencies, ensure that resources are used wisely and, in so far as possible, to achieve savings. The Courts Service cannot be exempt from the savings that must be achieved across the broad range of justice expenditure. That obligation applied to the service in 2011 as a consequence of the funding allocated in the 2010 budget for the service and it will continue to apply in 2012. It is likely that the Courts Service will continue to make decisions to operate with greater efficiency and effectiveness and it is likely that there will be further court closures in 2012.