Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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I am glad to have an opportunity to raise this important issue pertaining to the necessity of securing appropriate alternative facilities to enable District Court sittings to continue in Mullingar when the existing facilities are temporarily closed for upgrading, renovation and refurbishment. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue, which allows me to ventilate the concerns of all persons - users, practitioners, Garda personnel and business owners - who will be affected by a failure to secure in a timely fashion the requisite accommodation in Mullingar. This is particularly the case given significant accommodation is available in and around Mullingar which only needs to be examined and accredited.

I have been actively pursuing for a number of years the urgent necessity to refurbish and extend the current facilities at the courthouse in Mullingar to bring it up to the standard of modern courthouse that is now available in towns such as Longford and Tullamore. We just want parity in Mullingar by ensuring proper facilities are provided, including ancillary facilities in regard to family law, children in court and so on. I am glad to see this was incorporated as part of the Government's infrastructure stimulus package, which will be delivered by way of public private partnership. Construction work will likely commence next year and will take at least 18 to 24 months, meaning that alternative accommodation to enable the District Court sit in Mullingar will be needed for at least two years.

I appreciate the Courts Service is charged with responsibility in this area, so I am pre-empting what the Minister of State is going to tell me, namely, the Courts Service has responsibility. I am aware of that and know it is its job to seek out the alternative accommodation.

There are a number of buildings which would be available on weekdays and which would be eminently suitable for this important function and, indeed, would be secure, given there must be an adequate and appropriate level of security for judges and other persons. There have been unconfirmed rumours that the District Court sitting in Mullingar might have to relocate to Longford to sit in the courthouse there. This might seem to be a financially attractive option from the perspective of the OPW, given it is the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, who is present rather than the Minister for Justice and Equality. However, it would be far from suitable in terms of the Minister's budget when all of the additional costs and expenses associated with such a proposal are factored in, and I hope it is not even contemplated. It would mean up to 12 gardaí having to leave Mullingar seven days each month for seven scheduled sittings to deal with prosecution issues. From a practical perspective, where the accused person does not turn up and warrants have to be issued and executed, this means gardaí would have to embark on a trip back to Mullingar or the particular geographical area where the accused resides.

This would add a significant further cost and is far from convenient when compared to the situation if the court continues to sit at an alternative venue in Mullingar. While it is not ideal for the legal practitioners, they will nevertheless fulfil their primary duty to their clients. However, where legal aid is involved, this would lead to an increased cost for the client in terms of travel and so on, which has to be incurred by the legal practitioners. In addition, all of the relevant Courts Service officials, who are essential for the smooth and effective administration of the court, will also have to relocate for each sitting day - at least seven a month - and also for special court sittings and out-of-hours sittings, all contributing to additional costs, which can be avoided in the context of getting alternative suitable accommodation in Mullingar.

Of course, the public would be greatly inconvenienced and discommoded. It is at least an additional 40 minute journey from Longford to Mullingar. Many people do not have transport and 70% of the people involved in the District Court in Mullingar can access it quite readily; many can walk to court. The distance to Longford courthouse from Mullingar is up to 45 km, so it would be a significant disruption for the people who use it.

There are alternative venues. When Tullamore courthouse was being refurbished, I recall the sittings taking place in the GAA pavilion, which was an excellent facility. There are a number of such facilities in the Mullingar area which are of high quality and which could be examined. They comply with all the required safety features I have suggested. As was suggested previously, Columb Barracks in Mullingar, which is very close to my heart and for which I fought my own battle, is a huge facility which is in the ownership of the State and located in a very secure setting.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy is over time.

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Surely, within the confines of a huge array of buildings, it is possible to secure necessary accommodation to enable the District Court to continue to sit in Mullingar during the course of renovation work at the existing courthouse.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, I wish to thank Deputy Penrose for raising the matter. I will not read out the paragraph about the independence of the courts, as we all know that.

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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We will take it as read.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Exactly. My understanding is that the Minister has made inquiries on this issue and the Courts Service has informed him it is aware of the importance of maintaining court sittings in Mullingar during the period of construction for the refurbishment and extension of the courthouse. The Courts Service has indicated that the courthouse in Mullingar is in poor condition and the need for an improvement in accommodation has been clear for a number of years. The Minister is informed that a refurbishment project which was planned in 2009 was unable to proceed due to the reduction in capital funding at that time. The Circuit Court no longer sits in Mullingar and it has been necessary to relocate the court office from the courthouse to alternative premises nearby.

It is understood that the new courthouse will provide all the necessary accommodation and other facilities required for the administration of justice, including appropriate custody facilities and consultation areas, and it will increase the number of courtrooms from two to three. This will ensure that the facilities will comply with modern standards for court accommodation and that the needs of all users will be met.

The Mullingar courthouse development project is one of seven courthouse projects to be delivered by way of public private partnerships under the Government's infrastructure stimulus package, and the good news is that these are now again underway after a four-year period where no movement was occurring.

The procurement for these projects is being undertaken by the National Development Finance Agency and the procurement process will begin in the near future. It is expected that construction work on the Mullingar courthouse will commence during 2015 with the project being completed and the courthouse becoming operational during 2016 or early in 2017. As the Deputy recognises, temporary courtroom and office accommodation will be required for the construction period as the courthouse will have to be vacated.

The Minister is informed that the Courts Service, with the assistance of the Office of Public Works, is currently looking at possible locations for temporary courtroom accommodation for the duration of the construction period. I will not put all the other stuff, which is probably padding, on the record. I conclude by saying that I will take the initiative now and put in place a meeting between the Courts Service and my Department urgently to report back directly to Deputy Penrose regarding the important matter he has raised and see whether we can get a better fit between now and the next two years when the refurbishment works must be done.

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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It is fortuitous that the Minister of State is here because he is a practical person. I am glad he is taking this debate notwithstanding the fact that it is part of the Minister for Justice and Equality's portfolio. I am very glad of that. The Minister for Justice and Equality and I are very good friends. Looking at it on straight line economics, one place the OPW has already indicated costs of €250,000 to fit out. The judge just needs his or her own room for chambers and an ordinary room to secure. That is available at some of the GAA facilities so it would be foolhardy economics for the OPW to just use straight line economics because it would cost a fortune for two years for all of the people to go down - legal aid practitioners, the OPW's own core staff or gardaí. Mullingar has already lost Circuit Court sittings to Tullamore so we are waiting for this court. Businesses are entitled to it. There is a lot of activity around court days and money is spent so Mullingar is already losing out and I do not want to see it losing out further. The Minister of State can solve the problem. Columb Barracks takes up a huge area. I know because I sacrificed everything for it. Let me see whether I can get one thing back. Do it for me personally. Let us get one thing back and put the court in there for the next two years and utilise it. It will save the Minister of State money, he can spend a few bob here and there dickying it up and making sure it is accessible for Judge Hughes or visiting judges who come to carry out their important functions in the administration of justice. I appeal to the Minister of State. I know from his own practical common sense that he will do something.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Even though the Deputy's sacrifices have been many and great, he is looking well on the strength of them. The Courts Service funds all of this. We give it advice and see if we can find a fit or help it. The OPW is really a kind of shared service right across the public sector. Let us set up a meeting to see if we can make progress on this bringing the Courts Service and my colleagues in the OPW together with the Deputy over the course of next week.