Up to €250,000 spent on roof repairs at disused Wicklow courthouse
The Wicklow PeopleFigures obtained by Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady show up to €250,000 has been spent by the Office of Public Works (OPW) to repair the roof of Wicklow Courthouse to stop water leaking in.
At a recent meeting with senior staff from the Courts Service, the Wicklow TD was told it is now a key priority for the Courts Service to see the courthouse in Wicklow town reopened.
There are also plans to expand it from two courtrooms to four, which would help alleviate the pressures that currently exist on Bray District Court.
The Courts Service has included Wicklow Courthouse in its submission to the review of the National Development Plan, alongside Naas, Portlaoise and Tralee courthouses.
Deputy Brady highlighted that Wicklow Courthouse was included in the ten-year capital plan in 2018, yet no real progress has been made since then.
“In 2018 the then Minister for Justice said Wicklow Courthouse would be included in the ten-year capital plan, with works due to commence that year. When that did not happen, I was told they would take place in 2019. Years later, nothing has happened. This level of delay and neglect is shameful.”
The Wicklow TD said the Government must immediately outline a clear and binding timeline for the reopening of the courthouse.
“This building has been closed since 2010. For 15 years the Government has allowed it to sit idle while throwing hundreds of thousands of euros into keeping the heating on and carrying out maintenance just to stop it deteriorating. Now we are told that well over €200,000 has gone into roof repairs. This is a wilful waste of public funds and an appalling indictment of Government inaction.”
“It is time for the Minister to act, end this waste, and finally bring Wicklow Courthouse back into use.” he added.
Following a parliamentary question from Social Democrats TD for Wicklow Jennifer Whitmore, Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers outlined how the OPW commissioned a condition survey for the roof of the courthouse in 2024 at the request of the Courts Service.
Remedial works were then carried out to address the issues identified with a contractor being selected through a competitive tender process.
The works carried out include removing dry rot as agreed in the survey report, cleaning gutters and repair blocked down pipes, repair works to roof light into main court room, the replacement of wall plates and the re-lining of lead valleys and patch repairs to the slate roof.
In 2025, additional minor repair works were also carried out to the premises including repairs to external doors and windows and the maintenance of the external courtyard.
No further requests have been received from the Courts Service for works at the Wicklow town courthouse.