JUSTICE Minister David Ford has told The Impartial Reporter that “savings have to be made” as his Department proposes to close Enniskillen Courthouse and move all business to Omagh.

It is estimated that the closure would result in savings of £92,000 a year in running costs.

“We are dealing with 15 per cent cuts; that is a significant cut,” said Minister Ford. “It is simply no longer possible to protect front-line services. We have a significant number of empty court rooms across Northern Ireland. It is an important issue to centralise court services.” A public consultation which runs until April 30 has been launched by the Minister’s Department.

“We have a naive notion in the Justice Department that we launch consultations because we want to hear what people say. But it’s not a matter of the number of postcards or e-mails that come in. It’s to look at the budget and the savings we have to make. If people say ‘don’t close our courthouse, don’t close our police station’ or whatever, that is not a sustainable argument,” he said.

Enniskillen Courthouse has two courtrooms with two or three scheduled magistrates’ courts each week. There are approximately two small claims/county court sittings per month and it can accommodate occasional Crown Court business as well.

The consultation notes the distance from Enniskillen to Omagh; 26 miles takes approximately 40 minutes by car while a direct bus route and the journey takes approximately 60 minutes.

The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) state that as a result of cuts to its budget it has to make difficult choices and says further complex and challenging decisions lie ahead.

“No one wants to see service delivery reduce, but equally it must be recognised that funding reductions of the scale we are facing within the time-scale we are facing them, cannot not be achieved without some adverse impact.” It says the purpose of the consultation is to inform the Court Rationalisation Project by seeking the views of the public on a series of proposals and options to rationalise the court estate.

“It is, however, important to acknowledge that notwithstanding the steps we will take to mitigate the impact, there will be adverse consequences as a result of court closures.” In order to identify potential options for closure, the NICTS says it has evaluated each of its existing courthouses in terms of their location, physical features, potential to cope with more and different types of court sittings, accessibility, potential for resale or reuse and the business volumes at the venue over the past four years.

“We considered some of these factors to hold greater importance, for example volume of business and travelling distance to the nearest alternative court.” The Western Court Division incorporates the following new Local Government Districts: Mid Ulster; Fermanagh and Omagh; and Derry and Strabane. Under the proposals the number of court venues would be reduced to three; Londonderry, Dungannon and Omagh.

The proposed boundaries of the new Local Government Districts are broadly based on the amalgamation of the existing councils. It is also worth noting that the Public Prosecution Service’s main office for the county court division of Fermanagh and Tyrone is based in Omagh Stormont Minister Arlene Foster has requested a meeting with Justice Minister David Ford. The Fermanagh-south Tyrone MLA said: “It is not acceptable to close Enniskillen for what I understand are minimal savings. Closure would leave Fermanagh as the only county without a court facility and indeed the largest area without a court.” “People are entitled to attend court in their local area and I will be making the strongest representations to the minister,” said Mrs. Foster.

Sinn Fein’s Sean Lynch, a Fermanagh-south Tyrone MLA and member of the Justice Committee, said: “I am simply stunned by the Minister’s proposal to close the only courthouse in the county of Fermanagh. With the closure of the courthouse in Enniskillen many people will be forced to travel many miles in order to deal with issues addressed through the courts.

“Courts deal with many issues apart from the criminal justice system so this closure will have a huge impact upon those who have to attend a court,” he said.

Tom Elliott, Ulster Unionist MLA, is also seeking a meeting with Minister Ford.

“This is another assault on the public sector in Fermanagh. People of the county are entitled to a reasonable level of public service. There are already serious delays in the legal system, including getting cases to court. With less courts being available this will obviously get worse. I am seeking a meeting with the justice minister on the matter,” he said.

To take part in the consultation visit www.dojni.gov.uk and e-mail your response to consultations@courtsni.gov.uk by April 30 2015.