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Deputy Pa Daly.
SINN Féin TD for Kerry, Pa Daly, has called on the Courts Service and Kerry County Council to clarify the plans for Tralee Courthouse to ensure that it does not meet the fate of other courthouses which he says have sat idle for decades.
Back in September, Kerry County Councillors approved the sale of a piece of land at the Island of Geese to the Courts Services of Ireland for the purpose of constructing a new Courthouse in a project estimated to cost €22m.
The Council had received assurances that the Courts Service will not allow the Courthouse on Ashe Street to go into disrepair and will be maintained, while they said they would work with Kerry County Council on any future developments or plans at the Courthouse on Ashe Street.
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“Some recent developments with the Courts Service are worrying if they are any predictor of the future of Tralee Courthouse,” said Deputy Pa Daly today.
“Firstly, when the court was closed in Kanturk, promises were made some 20 years ago that it would be made available for other community developments. This is similar to the promises recently made to Kerry County Councillors. Unfortunately, not only is Kanturk Courthouse still empty, but the Courts Service cannot find the title documents for it, were a plan to be drafted.
“Secondly, when the Councillors were being cajoled into voting for the transfer of a portion of the Denny site to the Courts Service, they were informed that Central Criminal Court cases, which had not taken place in Tralee for a number of years, would return when the new building is constructed.
“Only a few weeks out from that vote, it has now been confirmed that Central Criminal Court cases will indeed return to the existing Tralee courthouse in January 2023.”
“It is still my firm view that the best solution for Tralee town centre and the Court users is for a refurbishment of the existing court building. This would make the Denny site available for other facilities which would benefit the community as a whole, which was the original intention,” he said.
“This will avoid the likely scenario of a big empty building in the middle of Ashe Street when the Courts Service pulls court services from the existing building, which has been in operation for nearly 200 years.”
“The optimum solution is for the purchase of adjoining buildings which could be incorporated in a refurbished courts complex in Ashe Street,” concluded Deputy Daly.
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