Court plan and rural decline

Court nationalisation will add further to rural decline in Mayo

Anna-Marie Flynn

THE campaign against the planned Mayo Courts Service reshuffle has moved up a gear, in a bid to prevent five areas losing local district court sittings.
Under the new plans unveiled by the Courts Service two weeks ago, Ballycastle, Ballycroy, Ballyhaunis, Ballinrobe and Charlestown are facing the realities of rural decline head on, with plans to discontinue their local sittings in favour of an amalgamation strategy with larger courts.
From January 2009, Ballycastle will be amalgamated into Ballina; Ballycroy into Achill; and Ballyhaunis into Claremorris, Swinford and Castlerea. Ballinrobe will be amalgamated between Westport and Claremorris, while Charlestown will merge with Tubbercurry.
Foxford is the sixth court to be cut in Mayo. The court, which currently sits in Ballina, will be merged with the Swinford area.
Last week, the argument against the plan accelerated when the Mayo Solicitors’ Bar Association issued a statement accusing the Courts Service of not consulting with court-users before deciding on the changes.
Describing the local court as ‘part of the fabric of any community’, the Association argued that the holding of the district court in a town acts as a deterrent to public disorder in the locality. 
In the brief, the group stated that while it appreciated the work done by that service since 1999 to improve the court facilities in the county, it notes that the recent decisions were taken by the service without any consultation with members of the Bar.
According to the representative body, the revision of the District Court areas is of ‘such a fundamental and wide sweeping nature’  that it is ‘concerned at the impact of the decision upon the public and those using the court facilities’.  
The President of the Mayo Solicitors’ Bar Association, Mr Pat O’Connor, said: “The decision to cease, from January 2009,  district courts in Ballyhaunis, Ballinrobe and Charlestown particularly smacks of bureaucratic administrative convenience and centralisation which should have no place in the administration of justice in modern Ireland”.
When contacted by The Mayo News, a spokesperson for the Courts Service said discussions with the Bar Association got under way last week.
Fianna Fáil TD, Dara Calleary, has also expressed his disappointment at the withdrawal.
Deputy Calleary confirmed that he has written to Minister for Community, Gaeltacht and Rural Affairs, Eamonn O’Cuiv TD on the rural services matter, ‘to lodge an objection’.