A Tralee solicitor says the town’s current courthouse facilities are unbearable.
Canice Walsh of Murphy Ramsay Walsh says the courthouse is inaccessible for people with mobility issues.
His comments come as a sub-committee of the Law Society is to meet with the Courts Service CEO this afternoon.
Mr Walsh said the inaccessibility of the courthouse almost led to the collapse of a recent trial, in which one of the central figures in the case had significant mobility issues.
He added that the presiding judge canvassed the idea of the person being lifted up the courthouse steps in a wheelchair, which he branded a shocking site to imagine.
He said that just this week, a person in custody required medical assistance in the main hall of the courthouse, and was left lying in a bloody and dishevelled state in full public view until the ambulance arrived.
Mr Walsh said this person deserves their dignity as much as anyone else.
A sub-committee of the Law Society will meet with Angela Denning, CEO of the Courts Service, this afternoon, where they will call for a decision on Tralee’s court facilities to be made a priority.
He says that wherever the new facilities will be in the town, a decision needs to be made now, or Tralee will lose out on funding.
Canice Walsh says this is now urgent.
