Coroner criticises Court Services about closures

Coroner criticises Court Services about closures


Áine Ryan

THE Court Services policy of closing down courthouses throughout the country and centralising them at larger venues has been criticised again by the Coroner for East Mayo, Mr Pat O’Connor.
The longtime solicitor was speaking at the first inquests held in the recently opened Cultural and Education Centre in the east Mayo town of Swinford.
“Inquests, as far as possible, will be held in Swinford and efforts by the Courts Service to close down centres where inquests have been held will not be taken lightly by me,” he said.
This was not the first time Mr O’Connor had spoken out about the centralisation of court services. When Swinford Court held its last sitting in December 2013, Mr O’Connor spoke passionately about the closure.
 “It is with great sadness and a sense of genuine significant loss that I am in this courthouse today in Swinford, which is scheduled to be the last use of it for civil and criminal courts,” he began.
He described the decision of the Courts Services to close the courthouse as ‘regrettable’, arguing that other parts of the country have benefited from investment in their courts while Mayo has suffered. He cited the fact that 23 court venues were in operation in Mayo in 2000. That figure is now four.
“We, in rural Ireland, have been left behind. The courthouses in County Mayo have been targeted for closure in what is excused as ‘greater efficiency and better service’. The economic, administrative and cultural cost to this part of County Mayo will be enormous as a result of the closure of the courthouse in this proud historic market and administrative town of Swinford,” said Mr O’Connor.
He added that no courts will now sit in half of the county – the areas of south and east Mayo. The only courthouses currently open are in Castlebar, Ballina, Belmullet and Achill. Westport Courthouse is currently closed for health and safety reasons, and its future is very much uncertain, he said.
Speaking last week, Mr O’Connor said when the closure of the Swinford courthouse was announced last year he was ‘determined that inquests would continue to be held in the jurisdiction in which the death had happened’.
He also praised ‘the wonderful fight-back by the people of the town to ensure that it retained this service’ and the gardaí for their support.