Around 40 solicitors will stage a walkout from Drogheda District Court this morning over the continued use of a bingo hall as a court since 1989.
The large bingo hall has been used for the weekly criminal court as well as the monthly family law and civil courts following the closure of the original court building.
Public relations officer for the Drogheda Solicitors' Association, Mr Fergus Minnogue, said: "This has now reached the farcical situation where some solicitors have consulted with clients in the public toilet." There are no rooms for solicitors to consult with their clients.
The president of the Drogheda Bar Association and State solicitor for Louth, Mr Gerry Daly, suggested that the Courts Service examine using part of the recently refurbished Barlow House, part of the Droichead Arts Centre, for the district court.
A spokesman for the Courts Service said it was "profoundly aware of the difficulties attached to operating Drogheda District Court in its current location". The Courts Service said it was finalising the purchase of a site in Drogheda and hoped to start building a courthouse in the new year.