Significant building defects at the Tralee court house identified in two reports mean it would take an estimated €2.5 million to make the building usable.
The estimated total was contained in the minutes of a meeting between representatives from Kerry County Council, the OPW, and the Courts Service in February 2021.
The two building reports on the courthouse by RPS Group, from 2017 and 2021, identify significant defects including moisture ingress, lack of disability access, and outdated heating systems.
The Courts Service has told Radio Kerry that works have been completed on the upkeep of the courthouse since the report in 2021.
The information was provided to Radio Kerry under the Freedom of Information Act.
At that 2021 meeting, Kerry County Council’s representatives stated there are fundamental issues with the courthouse, including water ingress and the need to replace wiring.
The council highlighted that the 2017 RPS report shows over €1 million was required to deal with these issues, but when VAT, inflation, and providing disability access are taken into account, the cost of making the building usable would be in the region of €2.5 million.
Another report by RPS Group was compiled in May 2021 on foot of that meeting, to update on refurbishment costs.
A member of Kerry County Council’s staff wrote to the Courts Service in October 2021 to say the main findings of that second report are that there are significant defects evident, and repairs or upgrades should be carried out as soon as possible.
The letter adds that the wide range of defects are a result of the age of the building, lack of a maintenance programme, and outdated designs and equipment.
The report, also released to Radio Kerry under FOI, says that very little work was done to the building in the four years since RPS last visited the courthouse.
It identified significant moisture ingress, safety risks for maintenance personnel, grossly substandard heating systems with some equipment from the early 1980s, and outdated fire safety systems.
RPS wrote in the report that potentially providing a rear entrance to the basement and/or installing a lift to provide wheelchair access would cost in the region of €75,000.
The report says the existing electrical services installation dates from 1981, has changed very little in the intervening years, and would not comply with current standards, regulations, and good practice.
There is also no gas detection system in place at the courthouse, and RPS wrote that a carbon monoxide monitoring system in the basement boiler house should be installed.
The Courts Service has told Radio Kerry that the OPW has completed various works identified in reports on the upkeep needed at the building.
It says these works have included life safety system replacement works, repairs to the roof, and a replacement of the boiler.
The Courts Service says it will, in consultation with the OPW, continue to monitor and manage the building and carry out any other necessary works as required.
The Courts Service previously committed to handing the courthouse over to Kerry County Council upon the completion of a new courthouse at the Island of Geese.
