Lawyers express concern over planned 'temporary" closure of courthouse

Representatives of the Meath Solicitors" Bar Association (MSBA) have expressed grave concerns about the open-ended nature of the closure of Dunshaughlin Courthouse. They have recently met with the Courts Service to ascertain a schedule of proposed works and an estimated timeframe in which these works could be completed. The Courts Service, however, is not in a position to give an indication as to when it would be proposed that normal business could again be conducted in Dunshaughlin, the MSBA says. In a letter received in late March, legal practitioners in County Meath were advised by the Courts Service of a proposed planned temporary closure of Dunshaughlin Courthouse. It was indicated that the courthouse would be closed due to 'the lack of capacity to accommodate the number of court users attending at the courthouse and the subsequent lack of health and safety, fire and sanitation facilities'. The closure is to take effect from Tuesday 1st September 2009. As there are no district court sittings during the month of August outside of Trim, this, in effect, will mean the closure of the facility as and from the end of July. From September, Dunshaughlin District Court will sit at the courthouse at Kennedy Road in Navan. Dunshaughlin District Court serves that part of the county which has experienced the highest population growth and level of inward migration over the past number of years, according to the MSBA. The area served by the court comprises the district electoral divisions of Culmullen, Donaghmore, Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin, Kilbrew, Killeen, Ratoath and Skryne. People living in Clonee and Ashbourne also come within the area of the court. According to the National Census of 2002, the towns of Dunshaughlin, Ratoath and Dunboyne had experienced increases in population of between 43.2 per cent and 257.6 per cent (in the case of Ratoath) in the six years preceding the census. The 2006 Census confirms these trends with an average 50 per cent increase in urban population in the four inter-census years and a staggering 478 per cent increase in the population of Clonee village in the years 2002-2006. Accordingly, the business being transacted in Dunshaughlin on the first, second and fourth Tuesdays of each month has grown phenomenally, say local solicitors. The district court has historically been the local court and the business of this court not only covers criminal matters, but also deals with civil cases and urgent family law applications, they add. The MSBA has expressed regret that it is the most vulnerable people living within the catchment area of Dunshaughlin who will suffer the greatest hardship in trying to gain access to their local court. 'Navan, a town whose surrounding area encompasses a population of approximately 38,000 people (the same number of those as in the Dunshaughlin area) is served by a weekly court. It is well-established that justice is a fundamental human right - access to justice is one of the hallmarks of a civilised society. Clearly, legal rights are only meaningful in circumstances where they can be exercised,' the MSBA added in a statement. The association believes that, in the event of the present facility in Dunshaughlin being transferred indefinitely to Navan, further difficulties will be visited upon those people having or needing to attend court. The MSBA said it is conscious that Ireland is in economic recession and that the Courts Service, the Government and other State agencies are engaged in a delicate balancing act between the provision of services and the cost of providing those services. However, the recession should not be used as a justification to deny the citizens of a substantial part of the county ready access to justice in their own area, the statement added. The MSBA is urging the Courts Service to retain the facility and to relocate Dunshaughlin District Court sittings to another suitable venue in the Dunshaughlin area during the temporary closure. It also wants the Courts Service to publish its long-term proposals for the courthouse in Dunshaughlin, which has served the local community since 1799.