Temporary Cork family law courts found ‘unacceptable’

A survey of family lawyers in Cork has found temporary courts accommodation, provided during redevelopment, is “extremely unacceptable”.

The majority of members of the Cork Family Lawyers' Association surveyed complained about privacy, consultation space, waiting areas and disabled access.

Court Chambers, formerly used as a law college and opposite the main courthouse on Washington Street, will house Cork’s District and Circuit family courts until the Anglesea Street court building is redeveloped.

The Anglesea redevelopment, a public-private partnership, will deal with criminal cases only, similar to Dublin’s Criminal Courts of Justice. It is due to begin next week and will take up to two years. Family and civil law will then take place in Washington Street courthouse, refurbished recently at a cost of €25 million.

Operational

The family courts moved into the Chambers building in August, but it has only been fully operational since the beginning of October.

There are two courtrooms with a small waiting area outside each, four consultation rooms and a practitioners’ room. Other tenants also operate from the building.

The courtrooms, which deal with about 30 cases each when in session, are on the third floor and are bright, clean and well fitted out. But practitioners say finding them is a challenge. There is a central staircase, with a confusing series of corridors and sets of stairs off it.

Anecdote

One anecdote being told among lawyers involves a client who went outside for a cigarette on three occasions, while waiting for her case to be called, and on each occasion had to ring her solicitor for help to find her way back.

Earlier this month, when a District Court, Circuit Court and an adjourned Circuit Court list coincided, one solicitor described the results as “mayhem”.

Chairman of the association Noel Doherty, of Fitzgerald Solicitors, highlighted the huge stress people are under during family law proceedings. Sometimes high numbers of people congregated in one area and it was unsafe.

A spokesman for the Courts Service said there were "some short-lived, teething problems", including the compression of two court lists into one day, which was "highly unusual". He said people were not familiar with the new set-up and "fully functioning waiting areas remained largely unused". The Courts Service met with family law practitioners this week to discuss requirements.