Call for West Cork to have its own State solicitor

BY JACKIE KEOGH

DESPITE the efficiency of the acting State solicitor in West Cork, a local TD has called on the Department of Justice to formally appoint one specifically for this jurisdiction.

‘There is an alarming lack of urgency from the Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) with regard to the retention of the role of State solicitor for West Cork,’ according to Independent TD, Michael Collins.

The president of the West Cork Bar Association, Plunkett Taaffe, agreed that the acting State solicitor, Jerry Healy, has ‘the impossible burden’ of carrying out his own role as State solicitor in North Cork while also covering West Cork, since December 2022, when the former State solicitor, Malachy Boohig retired after 36 years of outstanding service.

‘North Cork and West Cork are two different court areas,’ said Mr Taaffe. ‘There are, for example, courts in Bandon on Fridays, and courts in Fermoy in North Cork on Fridays as well.’

State solicitors are solicitors in private practice who are employed on a contract basis to act on behalf of the State in prosecutions.

Outside of the Dublin area, 32 local solicitors provide a service for the DPP in circuit courts and some district court matters.

There is generally one State solicitor per county, but in certain counties, such as Cork, there should be four – one for the city, one for North Cork, one for the East, and one for West Cork.

Deputy Michael Collins said the Department and DPP had indicated that the situation would be regularised by the end of the summer ,but that deadline has come and gone.

‘The role a State solicitor plays within the prosecution system is invaluable,’ said Deputy Collins. ‘The legal system in West Cork – its solicitors, barristers and members of An Garda Síochána – deserve to have a fully functioning system.’

The TD complained that there has been no public or professional consultation, nor has there been any meaningful consultation with gardaí, the Courts Service, or the West Cork Bar Association.

Solicitors in West Cork agree that Jerry Healy is very efficient and has certainly taken up the slack in both district and circuit court matters.

There is, however, a lack of certainty about any new appointment, or how the county will ultimately be divided and represented.

Deputy Collins said West Cork needs and deserves a standalone State solicitor.

‘This is yet another example of decentralisation that isn’t working,’ said West Cork Bar Association president Plunkett Taaffe.

Before going to press, The Southern Star asked the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to make a comment.