The proposal to abandon Tralee Courthouse is at odds with government policy, county and local development plans.
Following regular contact with Minister Malcolm Noonan, Anluan Dunne who is Chair of the Green Party in Kerry and the Tralee Area Representative asked the Department of Heritage to look again at the building.
Mr Dunne said: “It is my understanding that Minister for Heritage Malcolm Noonan is of the view that Tralee Courthouse is a significant heritage building of importance to the town centre. He asked that the department would form an opinion on it and how it might be adapted as a modern court building as has been done in other locations. He visited the courthouse a few weeks ago in an informal capacity and said that it was a really impressive building to have in the heart of an Irish town.”
The building which was constructed in 1834 is situated on Ashe Street in Tralee. Public sentiment suggests that the people of Tralee do not want the Court Services to construct a new courthouse thereby abandoning the heritage building.
Mr Dunne continued: “It is unacceptable that we are asking private property owners to maintain and regenerate our town centre buildings while the Court Service and County Council are effectively abandoning one of the most impressive heritage buildings in the town. I do not accept that it is not possible to reuse the existing building as I know we have the architectural talent in Ireland to produce a solution.”
Mr. Dunne has started an online portal for people to express their view on the future of the courthouse.
“The people of the town are not being heard on this matter and are being ignored by some people with influence in how this plays out. To address this, I have created an online portal for people to express their opinion, the result of which we will publish on social media in October. I encourage the people of Tralee to share their views on this issue. Your views can be input in the form below until the 1st of October at 5PM.
The survey has now closed.