Court services begin move as work to start on €21m courthouse

The relocation of Cork City’s court services to accommodate the construction of a €21m courthouse on Anglesea St will commence next week.

The courthouse on Anglesea St will be closed at the end of July to allow for works to commence and, from August 4 onwards, all district and circuit court sittings will be in Washington St for the duration of the build of the new criminal court complex.

The first in a sequence of office moves commences next Monday, when the circuit court family law office will transfer to courthouse chambers.

The district court civil section will move next Tuesday, July 28. Both will re-open on the third floor of Courthouse Chambers.

The circuit court crime section will move from the main office on the ground floor to the family law office on the first floor with effect from July 29.

The civil section and probate section will remain on the ground floor of the courthouse in Washington St.

Up to 170 construction workers will be employed in the extensive refurbishment of the Anglesea St courthouse.

When completed, the six courtroom complex will be the centre of criminal justice for the city at district and circuit court level. The extension also promises improved custody facilities, court offices, a regional office and other facilities.

The refurbishment has garnered some criticism, however, with some in the legal profession expressing concern that the extensive development is a precursor to the centralisation of court services across the county.

Gardaí also previously expressed security concerns over prisoner movements within the Washington St courthouse during the Anglesea St works, and indicated that overcrowding in holding cells could be an issue during construction.

The development will be carried out by construction company BAM, who won the tender for the works as part of a package that includes the building of four new courthouses in Drogheda, Letterkenny, Limerick and Wexford, as well as the substantial refurbishment and extension works to existing courthouses in Mullingar and Waterford.

Under the Public Private Partnership model, the courthouses will be designed, built, financed and maintained for 25 years by the company.

The Department of Justice anticipates a contract for the bundled courts project will be concluded in November with construction starting shortly after that with a view to completing the new and refurbished buildings by November 2017.