It will be at least two years before there is a purpose-built courthouse in Drogheda and until then the judge, court staff, solicitors and people before the court will have to continue to use a bingo hall.
The chief executive of the Court Service, Mr P.J. Fitzpatrick, has confirmed to Mr Gerald Daly, president of the Drogheda Solicitors Association, that while the provision of a courthouse "is a top priority", there has been no success in finding a temporary one to be used until a permanent one is built. That he said is "at least two years" away.
Last October, nearly 30 local solicitors staged a mass walkout from the weekly sitting of the criminal court in protest at the conditions of the hall that they have had to use since the old courthouse was deemed too dangerous 13 years ago.
Yesterday Mr Daly said there were no immediate plans for another walkout but "it is a terrible pity that a town this size serving a vastly increased population is put so far down the list consistently".
There are no proper rooms or private toilets for the judge or staff, there are no consultation rooms for solicitors and their clients and no proper press facilities.
"The facilities are sub-standard and have been acknowledged as such by the judge [district Judge Flann Brennan\], the court staff, solicitors and by the public, who cannot hear what is going on. It now appears we have no choice but to put up with it," he added.
According to the Courts Service, efforts to find a premises to be used as temporary courthouse until a new one is built have been unsuccessful. It has purchased a site adjacent to the Garda station for a permanent courthouse, but Mr Fitzpatrick has warned that, "because of the estimated cost of the project, it does require by law to be advertised within the European Union".
The subsequent time required to receive and assess tenders means the earliest a purpose-built court would be ready for use will be 2006.