John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the frankness and directness of the response. It is, however, bad news as far as I am concerned. I believe refurbishment of Portlaoise courthouse, which is hundreds of years old, was a waste of money and a case of throwing good money after bad. It suggests to me that the problem is being long-fingered and will not be addressed in the short term. I am further concerned to hear that cell facilities are to be provided at the courthouse. While this may resolve some of the security issues it will not resolve the core issue of the relocation of the courthouse. If the Courts Service needs assistance in securing and sourcing a suitable site I am sure many of the local businesses would be willing to assist it in that regard. While I realise that resources are limited, this issue will have to be revisited as a matter of priority. The holding of a court sitting almost every day of the week at the courthouse on Main Street cannot be allowed to continue.

It mesmerizes me in the extreme that the previous Government spent €30 million on a site for the proposed Thornton Hall prison, which will never be built. A number of sites in respect of the relocation of Portlaoise courthouse could have been purchased with that money, which was taxpayers' money that has been squandered. I ask that the Minister of State, Deputy Perry, impress upon the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, my ongoing concern in this relation to this matter.