John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement Matter which concerns a matter of grave urgency. No town should have to endure the terrifying scenes visited on Portlaoise’s main street on Thursday last. They have led to a local outcry and I have been inundated with hundreds of representations. For many, the incident was the last straw. Up to 60 people were involved in a wholesale chaotic brawl, fisticuffs and dangerous scenes of violence along the town’s main street outside the courthouse.

I raised this matter with the former Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, on numerous occasions in this House. I was told that, in the first instance, there was a question about money and then one about finding a suitable site. In this day and age, the town's main street is not a suitable location for a courthouse operating on a daily basis. All of the smaller courthouses around the county have been closed owing to rationalisation and are now centralised in Portlaoise.

What we had on Thursday last was a fracas which reached a new low, but this is not a new phenomenon. It is a daily occurrence, to the point where the people of Portlaoise, senior citizens, shoppers, others going about their business, students, mothers and parents with buggies, cannot move up and down the main street safely owing to anti-social behaviour by gurriers and gougers who hang around in large groups. It is chaotic and has now reached the point where it is no longer safe to move up and down the main street. It is pointless to talk about the revival of the town centre and business and the relocation the library while the courthouse remains at the heart of the town in the hub of what should be the social and shopping centre. It is no place for a courthouse and I have appealed on numerous occasions to have it relocated.

What happened last week was the last straw. I do not want to exaggerate the dangers. However, what will it take for the courthouse to be relocated? Will somebody have to be seriously injured or worse? Unfortunately, we saw the tragic events that unfolded elsewhere in the country yesterday. We are on the cusp of such a terrible tragedy happening in Portlaoise. The local newspapers have splashed headlines such as, “Mayhem on Main Street”. How can one run a town or a business or go about one’s business in that scenario? The Garda, prison officers and local businesses want the courthouse relocated. Everyone in the community knows the main street in Portlaoise is not a suitable or safe place for a courthouse. For decades, the town was promised a new Garda station. Gardaí in the town are working in substandard conditions, but the solution is in our own hands. The courthouse must be co-located with the new Garda station. The Office of Public Works and the Department of Justice and Equality must expedite this matter as a matter of urgency to ensure the new Garda station is built on a suitable site and co-located with a modern courthouse off the main street.