No immediate plans to bring Wicklow courthouse back into use

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald revealed in a reply to a Dáil question that €12,848.86 has been spent on light, heat and fuel costs related to the disused courthouse building since 2015.

Sittings of Wicklow Circuit Court were moved to Bray Courthouse in late 2006 due to the general unsuitability of Wicklow Courthouse, and sittings of Wicklow District Court moved to Bray in 2010 after a health and safety report was received by the Courts Service.

Since then, the future of the Wicklow Courthouse has been thrown into doubt, with various Government commitments to bringing court sittings back to Wicklow failing to materialise.

Ms Fitzgerald said: “The Courts Service has also informed me that a number of years ago they acquired a site adjacent to Wicklow town courthouse with the objective of refurbishing and extending the existing building. However, the Courts Service has advised that there are no immediate plans to refurbish Wicklow town courthouse.

“The Courts Service is completing its current courthouse refurbishment/building programme and I am advised that Wicklow Courthouse will be considered in the context of any forthcoming refurbishment programme, subject to available resources.”