THERE HAS been an angry reaction to the decision by the Courts Service to close the courthouses in Roscrea and Borrisokane, Co Tipperary. Under the proposals, the two local court sittings are to be transferred to the larger courthouse in Nenagh, most likely from next January.
In a statement, the Courts Service said the proximity of Borrisokane and Roscrea to Nenagh, the low frequency of court sittings in the two towns and their small annual case count “make it sensible to transfer their court business to the larger town”. Nenagh is 32km (20 miles) from Roscrea and 16km from Borrisokane.
The Courts Service’s statement said accommodation, security and facilities for practitioners, defendants, witnesses, victims and the public in Nenagh courthouse were “world class”. It said there were no consultation rooms or cells in Roscrea or Borrisokane. Private business had to be conducted on corridors and security remained an issue.
Roscrea solicitor Brendan Hyland said the closures did not make sense.
“This decision has been taken without any consultation and it has huge ramifications for people attending court who do not have any transport. Those with young children will now have to arrange care for them while they travel to Nenagh to court.”
He added: “ There will be no savings from this move whatsoever. This is going to cost the public more money. There seems to have been no cost-benefit analysis. It seems to be purely a bureaucratic decision.”
The courthouse has been operating in Roscrea for the past 190 years and for several decades in Borrisokane.
Local TD Noel Coonan (Fine Gael) expressed “deep disappointment” over the move.
He said he had contacted the chief executive of the Courts Service board, Brendan Ryan, outlining his concerns that the board “failed to give due care and consideration to the people of Roscrea and Borrisokane who will have to travel a distance to Nenagh at a considerable expense in these tough economic times”.
Mr Coonan added: “A lot of money was spent upgrading Roscrea courthouse recently and we were given assurances last year that the future of the courthouse was safe.”
Moves to close the courthouse in Roscrea were also opposed by the judiciary and gardaí when the proposal was first mooted last year. Garda Supt Pat O’Connor of Roscrea said at the time the closure of the local courthouse would be a retrograde step.
Judge Elizabeth MacGrath, a visiting judge to the court last year, said a court service was very important in local areas for gardaí, solicitors and everybody attending court.
