Irish Courts

The overall objectives of the project include the design, build, finance, and maintenance of facilities at seven courthouses to meet the requirements of the Courts Service for the provision of judicial services to the public and to maintain the facilities for a 25-year concession period.

SPV Project Manager, Declan Gallagher, outlines the background to a €149 million construction project which will transform courtrooms across Ireland.

„This really is a landmark project for the Irish Justice Department. It includes the  design, build, finance and maintenance of facilities at seven courthouses, ranging in size from 1,354 m² to 8,490 m² across multiple sites.“

Track record

„As far as Invesis is concerned, there were a number of challenges to be considered in areas such as conservation and archaeology. The advantage is that our team has a considerable track record of dealing with developments of this kind.“

• Cork City – Refurbishment and extension of the existing courthouse building to accommodate six courtrooms, improved custody facilities, court offices, the regional office, and associated facilities
• Drogheda, Co. Louth – A new courthouse consisting of two courtrooms and associated facilities to be constructed on a landmark town centre site adjacent to the River Boyne
• Letterkenny, Co. Donegal – A new courthouse to accommodate four courtrooms and associated facilities
• Limerick City – A new criminal courthouse to be built on a site adjacent to Limerick Prison, to include six courtrooms, custody facilities, court offices, and associated facilities
• Mullingar, Co. Westmeath – Refurbishment and extension of the existing historic courthouse to accommodate three courtrooms, improved custody facilities, court offices, and associated facilities
• Waterford City – Refurbishment and extension of the existing courthouse to accommodate six courtrooms, improved custody facilities, court offices, and associated facilities
• Wexford Town, Co. Wexford – Refurbishment and extension of the existing courthouse to accommodate four courtrooms, court offices, and associated facilities

Declan continued: „On the conservation side, five of the sites incorporated protected structures which required a lot of work from our team to ensure that the surviving fabric and features of the buildings were preserved and enhanced as part of a modern courthouse suitable for use in the 21^st Century.

„We also had to obtain an archaeological licence for all seven sites prior to financial close. We were concerned about possible discoveries on two of the sites at Drogheda and Waterford.

“As it turned out, we did discover skeletal remains on the Waterford site which meant the site team working in conjunction with the Irish National Monuments Service to remove the remains and record what was found.“