Crunch vote to take place on future of Kerry courthouse

A proposal to build a new courthouse is "not what the people of Tralee want", but the Kerry Law Society has said that rejecting the move would be "an unmitigated disaster for the county".

The facilities in the courthouse in Ashe St, Tralee, Co Kerry, 'do not recognise the dignity of the human person', says Fine Gael councillor Jim Finucan. Picture: Dan Linehan

Councillors in Kerry are being urged to vote in favour of the sale of a council-owned site to the Courts Service to allow a new county courthouse to be built in Tralee.

Approximately €20m will be invested by the Courts Service in a new complex if councillors vote in favour of the proposal.

The vote will take place before a full council meeting on Monday.

The Kerry Law Society has made a public appeal to all 33 councillors to back the sale of the Island of Geese site — which once featured a  bacon factory — that was gifted to the council by Kerry Group.

The existing 1830s courthouse at Ashe St no longer hosts major trials and has no family law or other modern facilities.

Courts offices have already moved from the building, and much court business now takes place outside the county in Limerick and Cork.

Disagreement over the location, as well as a strong desire to retain the existing imperial-style courthouse, has delayed plans for a new Tralee complex.

Sinn Féin's Pa Daly wants to see the existing courthouse upgraded. Picture: Don MacMonagle

Solicitor and Sinn Féin TD Pa Daly said the existing building on Ashe St can be refurbished, and surrounding buildings bought and repurposed as offices and consultation rooms.

He claims there are strong heritage and environmental grounds to retain the existing building as a functioning courthouse, pointing to the refurbishment of the Kilkenny complex.

'Not what the people want'

The public also is divided on the proposed move. A public consultation that was held on the Island of Geese site found that people favoured a mix of social, amenity, and commercial uses.

Independent Tralee councillor Sam Locke says a new courthouse is “not what the people of Tralee want”.

However Tralee Fine Gael councillor Jim Finucan said the facilities in the existing courthouse “do not recognise the dignity of the human person”.

He added that Tralee will not get this opportunity again for many years and there is already an economic cost with people having to leave the county for the administration of justice.

Any time we lost a service in the past, we never got it back,” said Mr Finucane.

'An unmitigated disaster'

In a statement this weekend, the courthouse committee of the Kerry Law Society said they were “appealing one last time to the elected members of Kerry County Council to vote in favour of the sale”.

“We fear that the consequences of a vote against will be an unmitigated disaster for the county as a whole," the society stated.

Solicitor Canice Walsh said: "We accept that some are wholly opposed to any proposal other than a development of the Ashe St complex. Many of our own members also have deep attachments to the existing building. 

"However, all those who are familiar with the existing building are aware that it is wholly and utterly inadequate. Retaining it in its current condition is not a runner.”