John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government is conscious of the value of providing for an excellent court system and has continued to provide substantial resources to the service, with a supplementary estimate of €5 million provided last year on top of the original net budget of €54.1 million. However, the Senator will appreciate that no area is exempt from the financial constraints of the past few years.

In relation to some court locations, the board has had to take the unpalatable decision of closing a number of small, non-viable venues and has had to introduce more efficient work processes to allow the service to continue to provide front-line services within the reduced staffing levels that are essential nowadays. The service has stated that it will keep the issue of Portlaoise courthouse under review. Given the Senator has had meaningful dialogue on the issue with the Courts Service I am sure it is conscious of the needs in this regard.