Introduction of court video link a money-saver for prison service

CLONAKILTY District Court has become the first court in West Cork to have video link facilities installed, allowing the court to link up with any prison in the country.

This technology will also pave the way for a ‘vulnerable witness suite’, which means any vulnerable witness in a court case at Clonakilty may be able to give evidence from the suite as opposed to appearing in open court.

The very first video link took place at the court on Thursday August 10th last in front of Judge John King when a prisoner on remand at Cork Prison was able to attend the hearing remotely.

Speaking to The Southern Star,  Leonard McCarthy, chief clerk of Clonakilty District Court, said that unfortunately Clonakilty will be the only court venue in West Cork to have video link capability.

‘However, custody remands from the other courts in Macroom, Bandon, and Skibbereen can be dealt with in Clonakilty,’ said Leonard.

‘It will undoubtedly save the State money because at times we could have two to three prison vans parked outside many of our court venues for hours, even though every effort is being made by local staff to deal with all custody cases as early as possible.

‘This will free up prison officers who have to escort prisoners to court, but the reverse side of this is that family members and friends of any prisoner will no longer be able to see them at remand hearings.’

He also noted the plans to install a vulnerable witness suite at the Clonakilty courthouse.

Supt Ger O’Mahony of Clonakilty Garda Station said gardaí welcome the provision of a video link facility at Clonakilty courthouse. ‘This will ensure greater efficiency in the administration of justice,’ he said. A Court Services spokesperson said that to date they have completed the roll-out of around 125 video-technology-enabled courtrooms nationwide.

‘The technology supports vital appearances from litigants, legal professionals, expert witnesses, prisoners, and gardaí dialling in from remote locations to a physical courtroom with digital evidence display.

‘A major benefit has been the uptake by the Irish Prison Service, who accounted for over 23,000 video links calls in 2022. This lessens the cost of travel and escort to the Prison Service.’

At the recent Thursday court sitting, several cases were dealt with through video link.