Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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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.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I convey the apologies of my colleague, the Minster for Justice, Deputy McEntee, who regrets she cannot attend for this matter due to a prior commitment.

On behalf of the Minister, I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this important matter and for giving me the opportunity to provide clarity on the issues he raised. As the Deputy will be aware, management of the courts, operational matters and logistical functions are the responsibility of the Judiciary and the Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998, given the separation of powers in the Constitution. The Minister has no role in the exercise of Courts Service functions.

All that being said, it is the Minister's understanding that the Office of Public Works, OPW, commissioned a report in late April 2021 to identify remedial works required at Mallow Courthouse. The project involves addressing and rectifying water ingress issues throughout the building in Mallow.

Defective elements include pitched and flat roofs, windows and parts of the exterior walls. The refurbishment will also include fire safety upgrades in line with modern building standards.

The works in Mallow are due to take approximately six months and the cost is likely to be about €1.2 million. The refurbishment works to Mallow courthouse will ensure the future of courts and court services in Mallow and surrounding areas. During the refurbishment period, the Courts Service in Mallow is opening a public office and counter at the courthouse in Fermoy town. This building has holding cells, consultation rooms, courtrooms and an office. It is planned that all sittings of the District Court will be held in Fermoy for the duration of the refurbishment works. All Circuit Court sittings will move to Anglesea Street courthouse in Cork city for the project's duration.

The Minister, Deputy McEntee, has been informed by the Courts Service that no staff will be in Mallow courthouse as the extent of the refurbishments will necessitate vacant possession for the builders. All counter queries and phone calls will be directed to Fermoy court office for the duration of the project. In the case of domestic violence applications, these will be dealt with by telephone initially and applicants can bring supporting information with them directly to the next scheduled court sitting.

Mallow courthouse plays a vital role in the local community and its refurbishment is to be welcomed. The Courts Service has embarked on a multi-year programme of modernisation to enhance the delivery of services to the people. This programme is focused on designing court services around the user, leveraging digital technology to streamline services and processes, and ultimately delivering a courts system which is more accessible to all. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, is committed to driving the modernisation and Digital First agenda across the entire justice sector and particularly welcomes the commitment set out by the Courts Service in its corporate strategic plan 2021-2023 to maximise the use of digital technologies to provide an improved and user-centred service. In April of this year, the courts modernisation programme approved an additional investment of €3.1 million for a three-year programme to provide 54 more video technology-enabled courtrooms, in addition to 104 already in operation. Further additional funding of €2.5 million has been provided for the modernisation programme in budget 2023 to build on significant investment in the sector. I hope that clarifies the issue for the Deputy.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State. I have received some comfort from his response in regard to the remedial works that are to be carried out. However, it was my firm contention, and perhaps I should have made this clearer, that it is about the loss of court sittings in Mallow. I contend it would have been very easy to provide alternative accommodation within the town of Mallow itself and not to have to send people further to Fermoy and Cork in respect of Circuit Court sittings. For instance, the Courts Service could have engaged with the local GAA club, which has ample facilities to be able to make provision for court sittings.

It is the loss of a service to a town. Although I acknowledge it is on a temporary basis, the fear is that once services get consolidated to another court, they do not return, and we have Youghal as an example. The Minister of State has given us some assurances but, whether the Courts Service listens to these debates or not, it is vital there is some sort of confirmation directly from the Courts Service that it is its intention, absolutely and utterly, to ensure our services will be returned to Mallow post the completion of remedial works.

I still need to interpret the words of the Minister of State in respect of the domestic violence provisions. I reiterate that it is about ensuring that where there is a Government policy specifically spearheaded by the Minister, Deputy McEntee, in regard to combating gender-based violence, and with the Minister herself acknowledging the stark figures in regard to domestic violence, we do not put in place impediments for women in particular where there is a necessity to ensure the services are within their own town or as near as possible. I seek assurances those services will be returned.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I again thank the Deputy for raising these issues in a genuine manner. It is obviously a concern to the Deputy and to any community if there is a fear of a loss of services. I am confident, given the initial reply supplied to me by the Department of Justice, that there is a clear intention to restore the existing level of service to Mallow once the refurbishment works have been carried out. I know Mallow quite well, although the Deputy knows it better than I do. Suffice it to say it is a significant population centre and it is a centre which should have the full services of the Courts Service available to the public and citizens of Mallow and surrounding areas that rely on Mallow for that kind of service.

The Deputy is right when he says the administration of justice, first, has to be timely but, second, has to be accessible. Unfortunately, many people who have to access the courts are vulnerable and one of the challenges they experience when having to access any service is travel and availability. Therefore, it is incumbent on the State and the Courts Service to retain the services. It would be proper for the Department of Justice to have the Courts Service confirm to the Deputy in writing that the full level of service which is now available will be returning post the refurbishment period.