Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 October 2011
373 Deputy Gerald Nash asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he and the Courts Service are engaged in a formal review of the future location of District Court facilities nationwide; when any review will conclude; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28620/11]
View answer374 Deputy Gerald Nash asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he and the Courts Service will make a commitment to retain the District Court sittings in Drogheda, County Louth post-2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28621/11]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 373 and 374 together.
Under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, the management and administration of the courts, including the provision of court facilities and designating court venues, is the statutory responsibility of the Courts Service and I, as Minister, have no role in the matter.
However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and I am informed that venues across the country are kept under constant review. This ongoing review includes every district and is particularly relevant in the current climate of reduced availability of public monies when the best use of all available resources is of paramount concern. The Courts Service's priority is to ensure that, in the current environment, it can continue to maintain the delivery of front line services and maintain an appropriate and acceptable level of service to court users. It is this priority that underpins the Board's decisions in relation to venues.
The Courts Service has further indicated to me that there are no plans to discontinue District Court sittings in Drogheda which has eight scheduled sittings per month and dealt with over 10,000 matters in 2010.
