There are no current plans to cancel court sittings around the country as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak, although the situation is subject to constant review.
The Courts Service said on Tuesday that it planned to continue to hold courts as normal but that contingency plans were in place in the event of the need to curtail public sittings.
However, the Courts Service has been criticised for failing to set out details of how it proposes to operate if court hearings need to be cancelled as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said it was content to follow the advice of public health experts on the issue but that it would be “preferable” if the Courts Service could inform stakeholders about what it planned.
Some legal professionals have also expressed frustration at the lack of information being provided about what was being proposed if there was a need to shut down some courts.
One barrister said legal practitioners would be anxious to ensure that there was a statutory basis for all contingency measures that are being considered by the Courts Service.
A POA spokesman pointed out that there were already video-conferencing facilities in many courtrooms that would obviate the need for prisoners to be physically present in court for certain types of hearing.
“Public health obviously trumps everything but we see no reason why the details of contingency plans can’t be made public,” the spokesman said.
The Courts Service said an extensive information technology and communication contingency plan was in progress in the event of the closure of its buildings including courtrooms.
“Our plans include arrangements to support court sittings in ways which include modern technologies,” it added.
It is understood a number of measures including the use of video conferencing for custody hearings and the taking of evidence of expert witnesses by video-link are part of contingency arrangements.
Other possible measures are restricting the presence in courtrooms to parties directly involved in individual cases and asking casual visitors not to attend court hearings.
The Courts Service said communication plans were in also place to notify judges, staff and other court users of any changes to sittings or cancellations.
It said official HSE guidance had been issued to all staff and was being followed.
Additional sanitisation of public offices and courtrooms has been arranged, with hygiene supplies including hand sanitisers being made available in all public areas. Extra cleaning of courtrooms has also been organised.
One leading counsel said there was “a fair amount of scepticism” among barristers about the Courts Service’s ability to manage an emergency situation.
“They have performed badly in previous weather-related emergencies when, for example, closures of courts were only announced at 8am when some people were already travelling for hearings starting at 10am.
“It’s hard to have faith when you have no information on the actual plan,” he observed.
The barrister added: “Like lots of other people we often operate in packed and overcrowded courtrooms because of long lists of cases and some people are concerned about working in that type of environment in the current circumstances. I see no case in making a distinction for courts, if schools and colleges are closing.”
However, the Law Society of Ireland said its members were content to following the guidance of the Courts Service based on advice of health experts.