The Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan, has today officially opened the newly refurbished and extended Courthouse on Anglesea Street in Cork. The €34.8m project is on the site of the Old Model Primary School, which originally opened in 1865 before closing in 1990 and being first transformed into a Courthouse in 1995.
Speaking at the opening, also attended by the Chief Justice Mr Frank Clarke, the Minister said:
Courthouses serve us all. They may not be places the average person visits unless they need or have to, but they represent so much. In any community, they are the physical manifestation of the rule of law, reminding us that we live in a full and free democracy with independent administration of justice at the very heart of it. The extension of this Courthouse is going to make a huge difference to those who use it. Whether a person comes here to work, to seek vindication, to face justice, or as a jury member to pass judgement… everyone will now enter a courthouse which integrates the old and the new, respecting our built heritage exemplified in the Model School and contrasting this with a modern building sculpted from Irish limestone to provide a modern courthouse for Cork City.
The volume of court business conducted in Cork City is second only to Dublin. Almost 26,000 criminal, civil and family matters were dealt with by the District Court in 2017. The Circuit Court dealt with civil cases and state appeals at 8 venues around the county with family and criminal matters dealt with in Cork City - approximately 4,000 matters were dealt with in 2017. In addition, the High Court sits in Cork for up to 16 weeks per year dealing with both Personal Injury cases and non-Jury matters. The Central Criminal Court also sits in Cork, including for the coming months of June and July. The provision of the new courthouse in Anglesea Street will facilitate the continued delivery of court sittings in Cork as well as adding capacity to allow for additional sittings across the different jurisdictions. It will also provide courtroom capacity to facilitate new business such as the Court of Criminal Appeal to sit in Cork as required.
The Minister added:
This going to be a busy courthouse, dealing with cases that represent, for many of the people involved, considerable stress. A courthouse is a place where life-changing decisions can occur. It is a place where complex and sensitive issues that affect people’s lives are dealt with. It can be intimidating but that is why it is so good to see the enhancements here. The new Courthouse has six courtrooms, two non-jury and four jury, as well as secure circulation areas for Judges, Jurors and those in custody. It also includes a vulnerable witness suite, a victim support room, a legal practitioners’ room, enhanced custody facilities, jury reception room, consultation rooms and other support facilities. I am confident that this new courthouse will meet the needs of Cork and the surrounding area for many decades to come.
The refurbishment and extension is the biggest project in the Courts Public Private Partnership Bundle which has delivered a total of 31 courtrooms and 36,000 square metres of accommodation nationwide. The project follows the opening of new and refurbished Courthouses in Drogheda, Letterkenny, Wexford, Limerick and Waterford over recent months. The last project in the Courts PPP Bundle, the substantial refurbishment and extension of Mullingar Courthouse, is due to be delivered in the coming week and opened later this year.