Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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249. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of an action (details supplied) under the Action Plan for Rural Development; the timeline for completion of remaining courthouses in which works are planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37120/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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In 2012, the construction or extension/refurbishment of seven courthouses under the Courts Public Private Partnership Bundle was included as part of the €2.25 billion Government’s Infrastructure Stimulus programme and I am delighted to inform the Deputy that all seven courthouses have now been completed.

During 2017 and 2018 work progressed on all seven sites. Drogheda Courthouse was completed in June 2017, followed by Letterkenny Courthouse in November 2017, Wexford Courthouse in December 2017, Limerick Courthouse in February 2018 and Waterford Courthouse in March 2018. Cork Courthouse was completed in May 2018 and Mullingar Courthouse in July 2018 with the official opening of Mullingar Courthouse to occur in the coming weeks.

This project has delivered significantly improved facilities for court users in each location. As well as increasing the number of courtrooms at each location, new facilities including vulnerable witness suites, victim support rooms, legal practitioners rooms, enhanced custody facilities, jury reception rooms, consultation rooms and other support facilities have been delivered. The courthouses are also fully accessible.

In terms of scale, the Courts Public Private Partnership Bundle project is the largest capital building project ever undertaken by the Courts Service, delivering a total of 31 courtrooms and 36,000 m2 of accommodation nationwide. The total capital cost of the Courts PPP Bundle is approximately €149.9 million. An estimated 700 workers were employed across all sites during the construction period, with on-site employment peaking at circa 950 during Summer 2017.