I thank you, Sir, for affording me the opportunity of raising this matter in this Adjournment debate.
Athlone is one of the largest centres of population in the midlands with a hinterland stretching for ten to 15 miles in all directions and it can boast of most of the usual facilities: a good industrial base, an Army barracks which employs 1,500 people, a large force of gardaí and the examination section of the Department of Education. Add to this a regional technical college, five second level schools and all the usual cultural and leisure facilities and one begins to understand the importance of Athlone in the midlands.
However, for the past ten months Athlone has had no courthouse. At that time the facilities at Athlone Courthouse were appalling. The acoustics in the courtroom made it impossible to hear what was happening unless one had the hearing of Superman. There were no facilities for consultations, so barristers, solicitors and clients huddled together in small groups in the courtroom or on the street, conducting their business in full view of anyone passing by. For family law matters there was nowhere that a client could go to discuss his or her case with legal advisers in any kind of privacy. The situation was very intimidating for any woman wishing to take a barring order against her husband. There was no public telephone in the Athlone Courthouse.
At the end of the Trinity Sittings of the Circuit Court in July, 1992, Circuit Judge Matthew Deery stated that he would not sit in Athlone Courthouse again until the facilities were improved to an acceptable level. This lead was rapidly followed by District Justice Jim O'Sullivan and Athlone District Court now sits at Moate Courthouse ten miles away and the most recent session of Athlone Circuit Court sat in Mullingar, 30 miles away.
Because of the closure of the courthouse a large cavalcade of solicitors, clients, gardaí, witnesses and court officials leaves Athlone every Tuesday morning and makes its way to Moate for the hearing of Athlone District Court cases. The inconvenience to all concerned is a major source of irritation when Athlone Courthouse lies almost derelict. For those who have no transport it means a taxi journey both ways, and for the professionals involved there is the time lost in travelling which could be productively used in another fashion.
An excellent proposal was presented by Westmeath County Council to the Department of Justice which would involve building a new purpose-built courthouse, incorporating free legal aid offices, a family law centre and the Department of Justice and its ancillary facilities. This proposal was rejected by the Department of Justice and a "take it or leave it" offer of £250,000 was made to renovate the existing facilities in Athlone. The balance, which is estimated to be in excess of £200,000, must be met by the local authority. The local authority has already heavily invested in courthouses in Mullingar and Moate and the Minister for Justice should live up to her responsibilities to provide these facilities in Athlone. Indeed, Mr. Haughey, when Taoiseach, promised in Athlone that funding for courthouses would be met by the Department of Justice and that they would no longer be a burden on the local authorities. I would ask the Minister to reconsider this decision in relation to Athlone Courthouse and make the necessary funding available so that it will not be such a burden on the local authority.
