Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased the Minister of State is offering to give lifts to people in Kerry if ever he happens to be passing through. I note the response in respect of the criteria being laid down by the Courts Service, which basically amounts to saying that if things such as holding cells, victim support facilities and consultation rooms are not in place, those courts are more likely to close. However, those facilities have not been there for 90 years in some places. We went through the Emergency and the Civil War and they did not have those facilities. Now, as the Minister of State is aware, the criteria are designed by civil servants to justify the closure. They are making the argument that these courts do not have Rolls-Royce facilities. Although they have been functioning perfectly for more than 90 years, the Courts Service is using the lack of facilities as an excuse to close them. I do not blame the Minister of State in this regard but-----