€20 million Waterford Courthouse to go to construction before year end – Minister Coffey

Fine Gael Waterford Minister Paudie Coffey has said that he has received confirmation from his colleague the Minister for Justice Frances FitzGerald that the new Waterford City Courthouse is due to go to construction before the end of this year. Minister Coffey said that this is a significant investment in Waterford City and will mean the number of courtrooms trebling from two to six by the time it is completed.

“Waterford City Courthouse currently houses two courtrooms and plans for its refurbishment and extension were announced back in 2012. Works could not begin however, until the new Waterford City Fire Station was complete and it is expected this new €7 million facility will open in the coming weeks.

“Once the old Waterford City Fire Station is empty, works can progress on the new courthouse. The works for the Courthouse were tendered in March of this year and it is expected that a preferred bidder will be announced by the end of this month. Contracts will be finalised and signed by the final quarter of this year and works are expected to begin before the end of 2015.

“The trebling of the number of courtrooms at Waterford City Courthouse will bring in a huge amount of additional business to the city from the legal profession and will bring economic benefits to the City. This is a strategic capital investment in the City and underpins it as the major urban centre in the South East Region.

“This investment will stimulate and create a whole new business district in that part of the City and there will be strong spin off opportunities for the services sector in the area that will help to create jobs in the SME sector.

“The project entails refurbishment and extension of the existing historic courthouse; which is a James Gandon Building; his other works include The Customs House in Dublin and The Old Parliament Building on College Green in Dublin. The refurbishment works at the courthouse will also see improved custody facilities, court offices as well as associated facilities. The new extended Courthouse will be fully operational by 2017.”

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