Decision still awaited on where court is to sit

Ten months on from when it was first announced that a new venue for court sittings would have to be found while refurbishment of Mullingar’s courthouse takes place, no decision has yet been made on what is to happen.

Suggestions that the sittings would take place at the courthouse in Longford led to queries being raised by both Deputies Willie Penrose and Robert Troy at Dáil Éireann level.  Already, for some years, litigants with cases for hearing at Mullingar Circuit Court, have had to travel to Tullamore, where Mullingar’s Circuit now sits.

However, the courts service said this week a decision has still not been made on where sittings will be held when the courthouse closes for the refurbishment.

The planning for the new courthouse has been completed, a courts service spokesperson told the Westmeath Examiner this week, and he said that the service has already sought expressions of interest. The next stage is procurement.

When Deputies Troy and Penrose raised  the issue in the Dáil, they were informed that the refurbishment is scheduled to take two years, and the reply to Deputy Penrose stated that the courts service had said that if a suitable premises wasn’t found in Mullingar, “other locations would have to be considered, which would represent a cost-effective and suitable alternative”.

The new court building is to have three courtrooms, custody facilities and consultation areas.