Courts Service goes ahead with plans to move Munster district court sittings
The Courts Service has said it is pushing ahead with plans to move district court sittings from three areas in Munster despite local opposition.
The Courts Service is moving ahead with the transfer of sittings from Youghal in Co Cork to Dungarvan, Co Waterford, meaning a 60km round tip for gardaí and court attendees.
It also plans to move sittings from Cashel and Carrick-on-Suir to Clonmel.
A spokesman for the Courts Service has confirmed that the district judge assigned to the areas wrote to the Head of Circuit & District Court Operations in March indicating that he is transferring the sittings.
The transfer comes into effect from November 1.
'Additionally, with effect from June 1 there will be an extra sitting in District 21 on the second Friday of each month where cases from Youghal will be heard in Dungarvan," a spokesperson said.
"It's planned that this additional sitting will be for Child and Family Agency matters. Details of these changes among others...can be found on the Courts Service website,' the spokesman said.
He added that the Courts Service has now commenced engaging with the various stakeholders such as legal practitioners, gardaí, State solicitors, the Probation Service, the Irish Prison Service, local family law user representative groups, unions representing court staff, and others, to explore any possible impacts and unintended consequences of the proposed transfers. The spokesman added:
Upon completion of this work the Courts Service will report on its findings to the relevant District Judge and make operational plans accordingly
The spokesman added that it 'has no record of having received communications about this matter from Cork County Council".
That came as a surprise to Youghal-based Independent councillor Mary Linehan-Foley who won unanimous support at a council meeting three weeks ago to write to the Courts Service and department of justice urging it to keep court sittings where they are.
She and other colleagues, including Fianna Fáil councillor Ann Marie Ahern, said the closure of Youghal courthouse would be a retrograde step.
They said it would lead to a reduced garda presence in Youghal because they would be out of the town far longer while attending cases in Dungarvan. In addition, the move would put an extra financial burden on witnesses, especially if they had to pay for bus journeys between the two towns.
Independent councillor Ger Curley, who lives in Cobh, claimed that since court sittings transferred from Cobh to Midleton there has been a lower presence of gardaí in the harbour town.
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