Solicitors 'should withdraw labour' amid ongoing row over 'outdated' Tralee courthouse

No trials have been held in Tralee for more than two years with gardaí, lawyers, accused, witnesses and families all having to journey to Limerick

Tralee is one of the few county towns not to have a modern court complex, and Killarney solicitor Padraig O’Connell says “a withdrawal of labour” must now be considered to ensure a site decision is made. Picture: Dan Linehan

Solicitors in Kerry should consider a “withdrawal of labour” amid increasing frustration over the lack of progress on a long-awaited county courthouse.

Tralee is one of the few county towns not to have a modern court complex, and Killarney solicitor Padraig O’Connell says “a withdrawal of labour” must now be considered to ensure a site decision is made.

“The time for talking is over,” Mr O’Connell said. He said he is willing to withdraw his services and is urging fellow legal practitioners to do the same. The run-down premises on Ashe Street has just two courtrooms and few facilities and the building's offices have had to be abandoned. 

No trials have been held for more than two years with gardaí, lawyers, accused, witnesses and families all having to journey to Limerick. At the weekend the head of Courts Service, Angela Denning, told the Kerry Law Society it is preparing to take action and acquire an alternative site amid the impasse.

Four years ago the council approached the Courts Service and offered to sell part of its town centre Island of Geese site for a new courts complex. However, since then there has been no progress, despite ongoing approaches by the Courts Service, Ms Denning told solicitor Canice Walsh.

Mr Walsh is a member of a new sub-committee of solicitors established in a bid to get a new complex to replace what he describes as “the shameful and outdated” facilities in Tralee. To date, the society has been “venue neutral” amid indecision over a site, but it now wants a decision made.

The solicitor and Sinn Féin TD, Pa Daly, sees little point in moving from one street to another in relocating to the Island of Geese. Picture: Dan Linehan

The solicitor and Sinn Féin TD, Pa Daly, is leading the charge for refurbishment of the existing Imperial-era courthouse on what was formerly Lord Nelson Street.

Mr Daly has said local businesses will be affected by any move from the historic building and sees little point in moving from one street to another in relocating to the Island of Geese.

However, Mr O'Connell told Kerry Radio he is putting forward a two-site solution which would satisfy Mr Daly and others - that the criminal business remains in a refurbished court house, and that civil and family law moves to a new complex, possibly to the Department of Justice-owned site on the Muckross Road in Killarney, given Tralee cannot agree.

Meanwhile, Mr Walsh said Kerry Law Society is meeting with Ms Denning of the Courts Service and they want a decision on the Island of Geese site as they are fearful now of losing family law to Limerick or elsewhere.

“We need to be taken from this backwater urgently. We are fearful that if another site must be pursued, then another four or more years could be lost to negotiation. This would mean another four years of unacceptable facilities for the elderly, those who are immobile, for victims of crime, for family law litigants, for victims of domestic violence, for the judiciary, for our hard-working Courts Service staff, for the press and for legal practitioners,” Mr Walsh said.