Department Of Heritage To Conduct Review Of Tralee Courthouse

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THE Department of Heritage are conducting a review of Tralee’s historic courthouse and their views will be communicated to the OPW and the Courts Service.

The Courts Service has signalled it wishes to construct a new court complex in Tralee, rather than invest in the existing building on Ashe Street, with the former Denny factory site being the preferred option.

Sinn Féin TD for Kerry Pa Daly has welcomed the news of the review, saying the Courts Service has been deliberately downgrading services in the courthouse in Tralee.

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“While the refusal to invest in our court building has continued for years, under successive governments, this has recently accelerated with the removal of circuit court or indictable cases to Limerick despite efforts by local lawyers to keep services here and prevent the exodus out of the county of Gardaí, victims of crime, witnesses and representatives for weeks on end,” said Deputy Daly.

“The only investment in Tralee’s court over the past 40 years has been a lick of paint and a kitchen for the judge’s chamber. Plans for wheelchair access have gone no further than the wall of the lobby in the courthouse. A policy of running the court in Tralee into the ground is not acceptable.

“Everybody concerned accepts that we need an improved court building, but the correct decision and the overall good of the town and town centre must be prioritised.

“No proper plans for the existing site have been produced but with increased emphasis on the importance of town centres and preserving historic buildings I hope that the potential for both enhancing the current building and keeping court business in its current location in Tralee town centre can be achieved,” he said.