John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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57. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if there are plans to develop the old courthouse on Boghall Road, Bray; if not, if she will consider allowing the use of the premises to a community group in the area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34112/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts, including the provision of accommodation for court sittings, is the responsibility of the Courts Service which is independent in exercising its functions.

However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that Courts Service staff relocated from the old courthouse on Boghall Road to premises in Bray town centre in 2006. The courthouse at Boghall Road has not been actively used by the Courts Service since then and it has no plans to redevelop it in the future.

The Courts Service deals with such property in accordance with its own internal policy and with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's policy on property acquisition and disposal. Courts Service policy allows for the possibility of surplus property being made available to community groups and that groups interested in acquiring such a property are generally advised to seek the assistance of the local authority or relevant state body to whom the property could be transferred. It would then be a matter for the local authority/relevant state body to enter into its own arrangement with the community group in question.

In relation to the old courthouse on the Boghall Road, the Courts Service has been approached by a number of state and community groups in recent years seeking to acquire the property for other use. Currently the Court Service is exploring the possibility of transferring the property to the HSE with a view to it being made available to a youth mental health group operating in the North Wicklow Area.