Kerry Green Party representative Anluan Dunne has welcomed correspondence on the future of Tralee Courthouse between Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, and Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, and he said it was an important intervention.
“I have been engaging with Minister Noonan continually since he came to office to try and secure a working future of our historic courthouse.
“I understand that Minister Noonan is of the view that by seeking to situate a new court building on the outskirts of Tralee that the Courts Service is at odds with government policy,” he said.
The Green Party policy is seeking to restore town centres as vibrant places to work and live and it aims to create town centres that function as viable, vibrant and attractive locations for people to live, work and visit, while also functioning as the service, social, cultural and recreational hub for the local community.
Mr Dunne it is essential that the direction which the Courts Service is pursuing for Tralee Courthouse is aligned to the goal of promoting the use of town centres, not undermining them.
“I know that Minister Noonan visited the courthouse in Tralee last year and found it to be the impressive building which the people of Tralee know it to be,” he said.
“The minister has urged the OPW to consider the wider footprint of the courthouse site and adjoining properties and made reference to the success which was seen in his local Kilkenny in the re-purposing of Grace’s Castle Court as a modern court complex.
“I understand a decision is to be made in the near future on the fate of Tralee Courthouse and I strongly urge the OPW, Courts Service and Kerry County Council to work together to find a solution which provides modern and full courts service on the existing courthouse site,” Anluan Dunne said.
Killarney’s best loved news and advertising service. Call 087-2229761 or email news@killarneytoday.com
