Plan to close four Dublin courts abandoned

The Courts Service has decided not to go ahead with the significant reorganisation of court services in the Dublin region because of the possibility of increased costs and organisational problems.

The service said in a statement today that the issues that triggered a review of services remained and “alternative strategies” will be needed.

Under the official proposals courts in Dún Laoghaire, Tallaght, Swords and Balbriggan were to close.

In what it described as a "root and branch re-organsation" of District Court sittings in Dublin city and county, the Courts Service published proposals last June to centralise criminal business in the Criminal Courts of Justice complex, near Phoenix Park, and to send all traffic cases to Blanchardstown.

Juvenile cases currently heard in Blanchardstown, Dún Laoghaire and Tallaght would be transferred to the Children’s Court in Smithfield, and all other business dealt with at present in Swords, Balbriggan, Dún Laoghaire and Tallaght would be distributed among existing civil and family law courts in the city centre.

However, the Courts Service this morning said it had undertaken extensive consultation with court users across the city, county and justice sector.

“We engaged thoroughly and listened actively to what people told us. While the reorganisation as proposed would yield significant benefit to the Courts Service, we have always been aware of the potential impact on court users,” it said.

“We have now been told that the proposals could also result in increased costs across the justice sector and be organisationally challenging for other agencies in the sector. We are always cognisant of the needs of court users and of other justice sector agencies and have accordingly decided not to proceed with the reorganisation at this time.”

The statement continued: “The issues which triggered the review remain and the Service will now have no option but to seek alternative strategies, which will inevitability require the assignment of additional resources to maintain existing levels of service.”

Labour Party TD for Dún Laoghaire, and former tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore said the move would be “welcomed by those who use the building, including the legal profession, the gardaí and members of the public”.

Fine Gael TD Mary Mitchell O’Connor said: “I am delighted that the Court Services’ has taken on board the rational arguments made to keep Dún Laoghaire Court House open.”

“This was a concerted campaign where community groups, politicians, Dún Laoghaire County Council , businesses and their representative body Dún Laoghaire Business Improvement District worked together to convince the powers that be that closing Dún Laoghaire Court would have been a retrograde decision,” she added.