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Irish Independent
7 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Councillors demand meeting over Youghal Courthouse closure
The letter to Cork County Council from the private secretary of Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan said that on the second Friday of each month from June 1, cases from Youghal are being heard in Dungarvan in a sitting intended for child and family law cases. The letter went on to state that the judge assigned to the district has issued a direction transferring the District Court business currently listed at Youghal to Dungarvan Courthouse with effect from November 1 this year. The Courts Service is engaging and consulting with all relevant stakeholders, including An Garda Síochána, 'in relation to the impacts and any possible unintended consequences of these changes,' the letter added. The Councillors blasted the lack of engagement with them in the stakeholder consultation and outlined the detrimental effect that the decision will have on the East Cork town and the surrounding locality. 'The direct impact over the division of East Cork, where we could be losing staffing levels from Cobh, Midleton, Carrigtwohill, Killeagh and all the sub-villages to go to Youghal on days when An Garda Síochána will have to go to Dungarvan is not acceptable,' said Cllr Ann Marie Ahern. 'The Garda presence will be out of the town for numbers of hours if they have to travel to Dungarvan, which is in another county, which to me shouldn't be allowed at all. As well as that, you've family courts and you've people on the margins that won't be able to afford to attend courts financially,' said Cllr Mary Linehan Foley. Cllr Linehan Foley rejected the suggestion that the current court building, the Mall House, is draughty, which has been reported as one of the reasons behind moving the court sittings to Dungarvan. 'We have heaters, they can be used, and at the end of the day, we [East Cork Municipal District] used the courthouse during COVID ourselves and we were never cold, far from it, inside there.' She pointed out that the current building has been used as a courthouse for over twenty years. Cllr Michael Hegarty said the Youghal Courthouse district 'represents and covers a vast area. There are people on the margins who would need to use those facilities and expecting or requesting them to go to Dungarvan, it's not on. 'And as well as that, the Gardai are very disappointed and annoyed as well to be taken out of their normal jurisdiction. If it happens, you'll see an awful lot of cases being deferred, adjourned, and it will lead just to a major backlog in dealing with the court services.' Cork County Council is now going to send a letter to the Department of Justice calling for a meeting with the minister or a department official. 'I think it's actually very frustrating to get a response like this without any engagement with the public reps of the area. I'm very nervous that this is a fait accompli, that it's done and dusted at this stage. And that's why the letter we got back from the department is kind of brushing us aside. But we're not going to be brushed aside on this," said Councillor Linehan Foley. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Irish Independent
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Cork camogie players receive full support
The message of support for the Cork camogie players was provided by Cork County Councillors at Monday's full council meeting. The Camogie Association has scheduled a ¬special congress for Thursday, May 22, which may yet ¬resolve the matter in a way that satisfies the players' legitimate concerns. In a move to end the crisis, Camogie Association president Brian Molloy issued a special congress note, sent to all clubs and secretaries confirming that he supports the proposal to add the option of shorts for players. Two similar motions were defeated at last year's congress — but the motion that will be put will give individual players the option to wear shorts or skorts and a team will not have to adopt shorts en masse. The rule amendment reads: 'Uniformly dressed means players can chose to wear skirt/skort/divided skirt/shorts on an individual basis, with no requirement to wear the same item as other players in the team, as long as they are the same colour and similar design.' A two-thirds majority will be required by delegates to pass the new motion. If the motion is passed by delegates, the new rule will take effect from Saturday, May 24. The controversy escalated last weekend after the Munster senior camogie final between Cork and Waterford was postponed just 16 hours before throw-in after players had threatened to walk off the pitch if they couldn't wear shorts instead of the mandatory skorts in line with the rules of the Camogie Association. The Munster final will now be played at a later date. In a joint statement, the Cork and Waterford senior camogie panels expressed their disappointment that the final was postponed: 'It shows scant regard for the preparation of players both physically and mentally to be ready for a provincial showpiece, to make this decision just 16 hours before the scheduled throw-in.' ADVERTISEMENT The issue was raised under Any Other Business (AOB) by Fianna Fáil councillor Ann Marie Ahern who requested that Cork County Council write to the Camogie Association and the Cork Camogie Board giving full support to the Cork camogie team on the progression of moving from skorts to shorts. 'I do want to fully stand behind the players on this and their choice to be allowed to wear the sports wear appropriate to them when representing their county.' Fianna Fáil councillor Gearóid Murphy who seconded the motion said: 'It has become abundantly apparent that whatever might have been decided at the congress of the camogie association last year, the strong preference of the players at all levels is for an option to wear shorts while playing competitive games. 'Any other possible arguments supporting a skort as part of a uniform kit become irrelevant in light of this fact. I do believe the congress of the camogie association will make the right decision next week,' he added.
Irish Examiner
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Courts Service goes ahead with plans to move Munster district court sittings
The Courts Service has said it is pushing ahead with plans to move district court sittings from three areas in Munster despite local opposition. The Courts Service is moving ahead with the transfer of sittings from Youghal in Co Cork to Dungarvan, Co Waterford, meaning a 60km round tip for gardaí and court attendees. It also plans to move sittings from Cashel and Carrick-on-Suir to Clonmel. A spokesman for the Courts Service has confirmed that the district judge assigned to the areas wrote to the Head of Circuit & District Court Operations in March indicating that he is transferring the sittings. The transfer comes into effect from November 1. 'Additionally, with effect from June 1 there will be an extra sitting in District 21 on the second Friday of each month where cases from Youghal will be heard in Dungarvan," a spokesperson said. "It's planned that this additional sitting will be for Child and Family Agency matters. Details of these changes among be found on the Courts Service website,' the spokesman said. He added that the Courts Service has now commenced engaging with the various stakeholders such as legal practitioners, gardaí, State solicitors, the Probation Service, the Irish Prison Service, local family law user representative groups, unions representing court staff, and others, to explore any possible impacts and unintended consequences of the proposed transfers. The spokesman added: Upon completion of this work the Courts Service will report on its findings to the relevant District Judge and make operational plans accordingly The spokesman added that it 'has no record of having received communications about this matter from Cork County Council". That came as a surprise to Youghal-based Independent councillor Mary Linehan-Foley who won unanimous support at a council meeting three weeks ago to write to the Courts Service and department of justice urging it to keep court sittings where they are. She and other colleagues, including Fianna Fáil councillor Ann Marie Ahern, said the closure of Youghal courthouse would be a retrograde step. They said it would lead to a reduced garda presence in Youghal because they would be out of the town far longer while attending cases in Dungarvan. In addition, the move would put an extra financial burden on witnesses, especially if they had to pay for bus journeys between the two towns. Independent councillor Ger Curley, who lives in Cobh, claimed that since court sittings transferred from Cobh to Midleton there has been a lower presence of gardaí in the harbour town. Read More Overcrowding will cause 'tragedy', prison officers warn
