Concern over virus risk in Courts Service

No hot water in a court-house, hand sanitiser going missing, and suggestions that some offices were getting favourable treatment were among the complaints the Courts Service received from lawyers and officials as coronavirus began to spread.

Internal correspondence reveals a catalogue of difficulties in keeping court rooms and buildings safe during the early days of the outbreak in March.

The records also show how Supreme Court Justice Peter Charleton called for temperature checks for all those who enter the courts system in early to mid-March. In an email, he warned of the dangers of crowded courtrooms with “situations of scrum” and said the inevitable restrictions required meant a “rethink on cheap methods of broadcasting proceedings”.

His was one of dozens of communications received by the Courts Service during March, which have been released under freedom of information legislation.

Lawyers in Cork were said to be “up in arms” after a number of barristers had to self-isolate following contact with a positive case.

“They raised the matter at length before lunch so sanitisers which appear to be available elsewhere are urgently required here,” said an email. Later, it was confirmed that members of the legal profession in Cork had tested positive.

An official wrote to Court Service headquarters suggesting a deep clean of the courthouse and bar room.

In Kerry, a number of legal practitioners complained that facilities were totally unsuitable.

“You might not know that there are no hand sanitisers or even hot water in the court houses in Kerry,” said one email.

In an email on March 10, a senior official in Dublin asked when hand sanitisers were going to be installed in the courts office at Áras Uí Dhálaigh.

“There is a rumour that hand sanitisers have been installed at the lifts on every floor of Phoenix House [Court Service headquarters] some of which are not open to the public and none of which have the numbers that Áras Uí Dhálaigh has in relation to footfall and the number of courts,” it said.

Another email from an official in Mayo on March 10 said the lack of hand sanitisers had not been addressed despite contrary claims.

“Unfortunately your assertion that all court offices have now been equipped with hand sanitisers is a little on the optimistic side,” it said.

“There is none visible in Castlebar courthouse whether for staff or court users. Perhaps you might be able to assist in getting such necessities to the provinces.”

One solicitor wrote on March 11 that there were concerns around the Courts of Criminal Justice and that it seemed solicitors seemed “excluded from any contingency planning”.

In another email, a barrister wrote: “The lay litigant defendant I was against offered both the court registrar and I a disinfectant wipe indicating she was suffering from the flu.

“I asked whether she had recently returned from northern Italy [somewhat jokingly]. She replied very seriously that she had not but that her adjacent next door neighbour had, which gave me a serious concern.”

In an email on March 12, Judge Tara Burns said serious consideration needed to be given to jurors.

Pressure on the Courts Service increased after Fianna Fáil TD Jim O’Callaghan tweeted on March 13 that all courts should be closed.