Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy will be aware that the provision of improved court facilities at Tralee is one of the Courts Service projects included in the national development plan, NDP. The existing courthouse on Ashe Street in Tralee comprises only two courtrooms and it lacks the facilities one would expect to find in a modern county town courthouse. I am informed the plan is for a new courthouse comprising four courtrooms and related facilities that are necessary to meet future requirements. As the Deputy knows, there is not sufficient space within the existing site to provide a courthouse building on the scale envisaged.

As we have previously discussed, in December 2023 the Courts Service completed the purchase of a portion of the Island of Geese site from Kerry County Council for the sum of €160,000. The Courts Service is currently being registered as owner of the site with the Property Registration Authority. A modern court facility will be built on this site. The Island of Geese site represents a great opportunity to develop a modern, fit-for-purpose courthouse in Tralee. Ahead of the next phase of the NDP, the Courts Service will seek to advance design work on the new courthouse. This will ensure that once funding becomes available, the Courts Service will be in a position to move quickly.

In budget 2024, €185 million was allocated to the Courts Vote overall, including capital funding of €67 million. This sum covers public private partnership, PPP, payments for eight courthouses as well as funding for the significant technological upgrades taking place across the courts, including the ongoing Wi-Fi upgrade and video court expansion.

The Government has invested substantial additional resources into the Courts Service in recent years and I can assure the Deputy that the Government will continue to support the Courts Service in its work to create an environment where justice can be administered efficiently and accessibly for all citizens.

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