THE courthouse in Cork's Washington Street has been a landmark for 160 years. It is one of the most important architectural buildings in the city but it has been neglected.
Now it is to be refurbished at a cost of £7 million. Announcing the project at the weekend, the Minister of State for Education, Mr Bernard Allen, said it would be carried out in two phases.
Work on the exterior will begin immediately at a cost of £3 million, and next year the interior will be refurbished at a cost of £4 million, with new family law suites located* away from the other court business to provide privacy.
In Cork, Mr Allen said, the delay in hearing civil cases had been reduced to 18 months compared to up to three years last year.
The Government's courts building programme, he added, had been in place since 1990 and works completed to date include court buildings in Galway, Clonmel, Ballinasloe, Ball inn, Athlone, Letterkenny and Midleton.
The courthouse was rebuilt between 1892 and 1895 after a fire, using most of the original stone. Its impressive portico will be retained, and local stone masons, using local stone, will be brought in to give it new life.