Concerns at closure of two Cork courthouses

AN Oireachtas committee will be asked to seek an explanation from the Court Service over the closure of two district courts in Co Cork.

Fine Gael’s David Stanton has a number of concerns over the closing down of courthouses in Cobh and Mitchelstown.

From next week, court business in both towns will be transferred to Midleton and Fermoy, respectively.

The Cork East TD will press the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice to ask the Court Service for an explanation.

Mr Stanton said the planned relocations will save the Court Services money in the short-term but, in the long-term, will end up costing the state much more.

“I am concerned that the decision to close court houses in Cobh and Mitchelstown was taken, apparently, without any consultation with local interests. Removing such services from towns is a very serious matter,” he claimed.

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, he said, will be urged to request a cost benefit analysis on the moves.

“I would expect the Court Service would also provide the committee with an impact assessment on clients of the Court Service and especially witnesses who may be called to give evidence. Extra demands placed on the gardaí should also be taken into account,” he said.

The Court Service has said facilities in Mitchelstown and Cobh are inadequate for modern day requirements and funding was not available to refurbish both buildings.

Mr Stanton, who was recently appointed a member of the Oireachtas justice committee, said he will be “pressing it very hard” to carry out a full examination of the decision to close the local courthouses.

Concern has been raised in some quarters that gardaí will spend a lot more time away from their own towns as a result and that their service to the public will be diminished.

It will take Cobh gardaí more than 40 minutes extra to complete a 38km round trip from Cobh to Midleton.

Meanwhile, Mitchelstown gardaí will lose approximately 30 minutes on a 32km round trip to the court in Fermoy.

In addition, it has also been claimed that increased garda overtime will have to be paid because of the moves.

Solicitors have also complained that the court moves will needlessly take up more of their time.

And as for witnesses some of them are likely to be inconvenienced even more, especially if they don’t have their own transport.

The bus service between Mitchelstown and Fermoy is reasonably regular, because both towns are stops on the main Cork-Dublin bus route.

However, there is no direct bus service between Cobh and Midleton.

The only public service is the train and people leaving Cobh to get the Midleton train would have to change at Glounthaune. That could take a two-hour round trip.