Court office closes ahead of move to courthouse

The temporary offices of the Courts Service on Church Avenue, Mullingar will close for business at 3pm today, as the move to state-of-the-art new facilities at Mullingar’s refurbished courthouse commences.

The court offices will reopen to the public this coming Monday morning, August 13 at 10am in the courthouse on Mount Street.

Between Wednesday and Friday of this week, the Courts Service office in Mullingar will remain closed in order to facilitate the move back to Mullingar Courthouse.

A spokesperson for the Courts Service said that there will be some “slight disruption” to telephone services during this time, but that the inconvenience is expected to be minimised by the fact that it is the legal vacation period.

Full telephone services will be restored on Monday morning, when the offices reopen on Monday.

The move back to Mullingar Courthouse means that from October, Circuit Court sittings for Westmeath will return to Mullingar from Athlone; the latter will retain its civil and family law sittings, as was the case before Mullingar Courthouse closed for redevelopment.

After this month, all District Court sittings will be held in newly reopened courthouse; however, vacation sittings are unlikely to be held there during August.

The new courthouse, meanwhile, will be open for the High Court and the Central Criminal Court to sit, as and when deemed necessary by the Judiciary.

The refurbishment and extension of the existing historic courthouse in Mullingar will accommodate three courtrooms, improved custody facilities, court offices and associated facilities.

Courtrooms will be enabled for video-conferencing, digital recording, and electronic display of evidence.

Facilities include public spaces, first class consultation rooms and waiting areas, modern and various sizes of courtrooms and facilities for jurors will be provided.

Accommodation for witnesses, victims, relatives and others have been enhanced in terms of privacy, security and comfort.

“This project will set a new standard for court facilities in Ireland, operating with a flexibility and security, providing suitable, modern accommodation for all court users,” the Courts Service spokesperson said.

“The design will provide for the separation, privacy, security and protection of different court users such as witnesses, jurors, and the judiciary.”