Courthouse could be on the move

Reports in The Limerick Post Newspaper this week claim that a city official has written to the chief executive officer of the Court Services requesting that the city’s courthouse be moved to a different part of the city.

It comes after local councilors raised concerns that it is too close to City Hall and often visitors to the city's "leading municipal building" are faced with high levels of Gardai, TV cameras and undesirables hanging around when a trial is going on next door.

John Gilligan told the paper,

"There are all sorts of VIPs and other people on official high profile visits to the mayor and city manager going in to City Hall on a daily basis, as well as tourists heading for King John's Castle, and the everyday good citizens of this city going in to tax their cars, all of whom have frequently to run the gauntlet of some very undesirable, loud and abusive people who are hanging about on the steps outside the Courthouse and City Hall - not the most attractive impression of our city, not to mention the sense of intimidation these kind of people generate"

Court Services have responded to the report and have stated that they are currently examining the situation down at Merchants Quay and are, in the long term, looking at a site near Limerick Prison on Mulgrave Street as a possible new home for the court house.

A lot more on this over at LimerickPost.ie