Dún Laoghaire Court House - Submission

rqfoef*e*

q[.

An tSeirbhis Chiirteonno Courts Seryice Cllr. Michael Merrigan Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council County Hall Marine Road Dun Laoghaire Co Dublin

13th June

2014

Re: Proposed closure of Dun Laoghaire Courthouse

Dear Counsellor, Thank you for your letter dated the 72th of June 2014 inrelation to the proposed closure of Dun Laoghaire Courthouse.

Please be assured that your submission will be taken into account in consideration this matter.

of

Yours sincerely

Brendan Ryan Chief Executive Officer

Brend6n

6 Riain, Priomh

Fheidhmeannach, AN tSftgH[S CUIRTEANNA, Aras an Fhionn Uisce, Atha Cliath 7.

15124 sr6id an Fhionn Uisce Thuaidh, Margadh na Feirme, Baile

BrendanRyan,ChiefExecutiveOfficer,COURTSSERVICE,PhoenixHouse, l5/24PhoenixStreetNor-th,Smithfield,DublinT. Teileafon/Telephone: 0l 888 6426 Facsuimhir/Fax:01 873 5242 Liithredn Gr6asiinlWebsite: http://www.courts.ie

CllT. MICHAEL MERRIGANI * Diln Laoghaire LEA Dfin Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Independent

County Hall, Marine Road, Drin Laoghaire, Co. Dublin

Tel:+353 (0) 86 075 6026 E-mail: mrqerrigan@cllr.dlrcoco.ie

l2b June2014 Chief Executive, Courts Service, Phoenix House, 15124 Phoenix Street North, Smithfield, Dublin 7 Re:

c.c. Cllr. Marie Baker, Cathaoirleach, Drin Laoghaire Rathdown County Corurcil.

A Chara, The proposed closure of the Drin Laoghaire Court House and the relocation of its services to Dublin City has a number of very serious consequences for the administration ofjustice in this area and it would certainly impact very negatively on the social and economic fabric of the town of Dirn Laoghaire.

t/

Therefore, it is my intention to seek cross-party support at Dirn Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to request the intervention of the Minister for Justice and Equality in this matter for, inasmuch as it is government policy and indeed, a requirement of the Haddinglon Road Agreement, that the Courts Service, in common with other public sector organisations, must consider efficiencies, reorganisations, restructuring and prioritisation before seeking additionaUreplacement resources to address current and future challenges, this cannot be at the expense of the delivery of vital local services underpinning the administration ofjustice in our Republic.

In the interim, I would shongly urge the Courts Service to take the following points into consideration in its assessment of the proposal to close Dirn Laoghaire Court House.

1.

The business community needs and deserves the support of a court service at local level.

In addition, the business community and local residents should have access to a court service at local level for the many and varied experiences of daily life which quite often bring them before the courts in different capacities.

2.

Dun Laoghaire Court provides its services and

to an area extending from

Loughlinstown Hospital in the south to Sandyford and Dundrum in the west, through

to Merrion Gates in the north, a population exceeding that of City of Limerick.

J.

Drin Laoghaire is also the county capital of the County of Drin Laoghaire Rathdown where the local authority deals with a multiplicity of local issues involving the local community and it has a significant volume of business before Drin Laoghaire Court which will be ongoing and is ever increasing. The local community is directly involved in those proceedings and a local court is best placed to serye those individuals and the decision making requires, in the interests ofjustice and insight, a local presence and knowledge.

4.

Juveniles charged with criminal offences should be dealt with and must be dealt with at local level. It is detrimental to their vulnerable position that they should be brought before the Juvenile Court in Smithfield. Many of these juveniles are new to the court

system. It is extremely damaging that they should be in a position where they can engage with many others in Dublin City where their wlnerability can and will be exploited.

C 5

Those people encountering drug related difficulties should not be centralised into a city

court system any more than juveniles. Rehabilitation and restorative justice become more difficult and, quite frequently, meaningless if such centralisation were to occur by the closing of Drin Laoghaire Court. Restorative justice is a very important and new development which is based upon the principle of community involvement. The whole concept requires a court system at local level to be effective.

6.

a

At a community interaction level, the Courts Service, Local Probation Service and An Garda Sioch6na very successfully supported many 'Youth Diversionary Projects' in Drin Laoghaire over the past fifteen years. One such project in particular, Dfn Laoghaire Town Football Club, was instrumental in successfully addressing many serious problems of antisocial behaviour; eliminating social exclusion and thus breaking generational patterns of offending. Many young males who would have otherwise ended up incarcerated, tumed instead to training and education and, eventually, moved on to employment. This excellent local collaboration between the community and the state agencies above, very significantly, at a time when hundreds of young male asylum seekers were resident in town of Drin Laoghaire, ensured that no racially motivated incidents occurred involving any of the circa 140 young males associated with Dfn Laoghaire Town Football Club. The removal of the Court Services and possibly, the Local Probation Services, from Drin Laoghaire will have very serious and hugely negative impacts on the much valued and essential work of the Community Gardai and the local community groups in the area.

7.

There is a loss

in

personnel, productivity and commercial terms, inasmuch as, witnesses, members of the business community, experts, private residents and litigants would be forced to commute to and be available for indefinite periods of time in the city centre for court purposes. This includes such court business as civil litigation, debt recovery, local authority business and road traffrc and parking prosecutions.

8.

The value of local knowledge cannot be overstated in terms of the effectiveness of the justice system. This local knowledge is gained through the transaction of court business at local level and ensures that the community is best served. The removal of the centre whereby this local knowledge is gained at every level is a massive disservice to the community quite apart from the inconveniences already set out above. It also serves as a clear indication that Drin Laoghaire Town Centre and its surrounding arca are to be

deliberately disadvantaged and its status further diminished at a time when struggling for survival.

g.

J

it is

With the slow return to prosperity already beginning in this country the need for a court service in an area as big as Dun Laoghaire is not only justified but absolutely essential.

These services will increase in value to the community as economic activity returns, employment increases and a healthy commercial sentiment is evident in local stores, restaurants, pubs and other establishments. This is especially important for a town like Drin Laoghaire which has suffered disproportionally during the recession with high levels of unemployment, business closures and currently struggling to get back on its feet.

10.

Drin Laoghaire Court is not a temporary court of convenience sitting once or twice a month or a couple of days a week. It has a full 5 day schedule for the transaction of court business of significance and variety. There has been a court in Dtn Laoghaire since 1860, originally a Magistrates Court. From the foundation of the State the court presence continued and for almost 50 years it has been transacting business in the local community on a 5 day week basis.

District Court Services in town will mean that the Gardai appearing in Court will not be in our local area and will be taken off the beat for longer periods. This has the potential to further weaken the Garda presence in areas that recently lost their Garda Stations like Dalkey and Kill O' The Grange. The public demand and deserve a visible policing

I 1. The impact on An Garda Siochdna must not be underestimated. Centralising the

service. be a detrimental effect on the probation services in our area not to mention the training and rehabilitation services which will all suffer with staff off site for longer periods. Please see no. 6 above.

12. Similarly there

will

13.Theiurisdiction of the District court in civil matters has been increased to â‚Ź15,000 which will increase the number of cases before the lower court. Local businesses and individuals will be seriously discommoded by having to go to one of several civil courts in the city centre and of course suffer long delays in having their cases heard.

14.

The Family District Court has recently been centralised in Dolphin House. The experience has been very poor with citizens having long delays, no privacy, totally inadequate seating and not knowing which court they will be heard in until a public address announcement.

15.

As a matter of public policy, the centralisation of the administration ofjustice in the City of Dubtin, and the closing down of regional court houses in towns like Dun Laoghaire, removes an essential pillar of our democracy from local communities in a manner that is hardly consistent with Article 34.1 of Bunreacht na hilireann. Tlte principle that the administation ofjustice shall be in public naturally means that such should be accessible and visible, as far as is practicable, to local communities in regional court houses.

16. The unsustainable levels

o

of overcrowding at the Garda Station on Corrig Avenue in

Drin Laoghaire caused by the relocation of stafffrom the now closed stations at Dalkey and Kill O' The Crrange shoutd be addressed by the reopening of, at least, the Dalkey Garda Station to meet the needs of the local communities in the Dalkey I Killiney / Glenageary areas. The closure of the Court House in Dtn Laoghaire and the possible reuse of the building to address the overcrowding at the Garda Station is not in the interests of the local communities in Din Laoghaire and Dalkey. Public safety and the quality of the policing service in the area should not be firther comp'romised in the interests of thg pursuit of dubious efficiencies in the Courts Service.

Whilst thanking you for placing this matter before the Sub-Committee of the Courts Service which is charged with assessing each of the submissions, should further information or clarification oo any of the above points be rcquired ptease do not hesitate to contact me at tlre telephone number or e-mail address provided above.

Please acknowledge recerp of this submission.

Mise le meas,

B Cltr. MICHAEL MERRIGAFi, MA, FGSI Independent, Dfin Laoghaire LEA Dfin Laoghaire Rathdown County Council

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I

wish to gratefully acknowledge receipt of the very helpful and detailed operational arguments prepared and presented by Mr. Justin McKenna of

Partners at Law, Solicitors, who wrote to each County Councillor on June 5tt'2014 outlining the impact that the proposed closure of Dirn Laoghaire Court House would have on the administration ofjustice and ancillary services in this area.

Mr. McKenna urged all County Councillors to make submissions on this matter to the Courts Service.

Cllr. Michael Merrigan 23 June 24ru