‘No decision’ as yet on Virginia Courthouse

While court sittings have not resumed at Virginia or Carrickmacross in a post-pandemic environment, “no decision” has been taken regarding their future use.

Court sittings in Cavan and Monaghan have been centralised in both county towns.

The Virginia and Carrickmacross sittings were moved to their respective county towns while pandemic restrictions were in place; however there has been no reversal of this decision.

Maintenance costs for Virginia Courthouse in 2022 were €7,878; while the cost upkeep for Carrickmacross was €6,049.

A spokesperson said that a “broader approach to the future management” of courthouse buildings was set out in the Court Service’s Estates Strategy published last year.

The estate is spread across 83 district court areas, and comprises more than 103 individual buildings, the average age of which is 162 years.

In recent years the Courts Service has successfully refurbished and modernised a number of court buildings nationwide, including at Monaghan Town.

Regarding the courthouse in Cavan Town, the Courts Service spokesperson confirmed that there were “discussions some years back” on the future use of the building with Cavan County Council, at a time when the local authority was “considering a greenfield site” for its headquarters.

“Those discussions did not result in any future plans. We remain interested in the potential for development of the Courthouse, whatever the long-term plans of the County Council.”

The spokesperson added that the Courts Service has invested in equipping the courtrooms in Cavan Town and Monaghan Town with the “latest in video conferencing technology”, which has “allowed us to transact a considerable amount of business” without the need for all parties to physically attend court.

Sound technology has also been upgraded in both courthouses.