Lawyers working in family law have raised concerns about plans to move child-protection cases from Dolphin House in Dublin to the Chancery Street Courthouse. The Courts Service has said it hopes to transfer the Dublin District Childcare Court, which deals with cases of children being taken into State care, to the 19th-century courthouse later this year.

Proposals include building prefabs in the yard behind the courthouse, known as the Bridewell, to facilitate consultation rooms for lawyers, social workers, Legal Aid Board staff and others.

Road traffic summons cases, currently dealt with at the Bridewell, will move to Blanchardstown Courthouse and the Drug Treatment Court will be moved to Green Street. Criminal proceedings will be transferred to the Criminal Courts of Justice, Parkgate Street.

The Courts Service has told practitioners that extra court space is needed for family law in the Dublin area following the enactment of new legislation on guardianship, custody and access, by Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald.

Moving childcare cases to the Bridewell would free up two courtrooms in Dolphin House to deal with other family law matters, including domestic violence and guardianship, and would reduce “unacceptable waiting times”, the service has said.

‘Initial support’

Long-term plans to move all family law to one purpose-built facility at Hammond Lane have also been flagged, but that site is not expected to be completed for at least four years.

The Courts Service has said the judiciary had indicated “initial support” for the Bridewell proposal. However concerns have been raised by practitioners, including the Family Lawyers Association, the Bar Council, the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association and the Law Society.

The chairman of the Family Lawyers Association, Seán Ó hUallacháin SC, told The Irish Times they had reservations about the Bridewell building. “It is pretty grim and a creature of its time,” he said. “The layout is not conducive to a 21st-century caring environment.” Judges sit at a height in the three courts, while in Dolphin House, judges are only one step up from the courtroom.

Mr Ó hUallacháin said it would not be a suitable place to bring children, who may attend court to speak to the judge, and it did not have appropriate waiting areas or facilities for parents, who may have mental health or addiction issues.

“Our concern is not for our members, we are concerned about what’s in the best interests of parties and children.”