Shortages lead to cut in Court office opening hours

Staff shortages at Galway Courthouse have resulted in the public office having to be closed at lunchtime every day.

The public counter – which deals with payment of fines and fees, as well as family law, probate, debts and small claims – has had to close at 1pm each day since mid-December, and is likely to continue until the end of January.

A notice from the Court Office reads: “The reduction in opening hours is due to staff shortages. We hope to have the matter addressed early in the New Year.”

A source told the Galway City Tribune that two members of staff are on long-term sick leave, while another is on maternity leave. That is on top of an existing deficit of two staff since 2012.

“A temporary clerical officer is starting in January, and it is hoped that one of the people on leave will be back by the end of January, so it may be possible to return to normal opening hours then.

“At the moment, the shortage is not affecting court sittings, and there is support coming from the offices in Loughrea and Castlebar. However, the public office is affected until further notice.

“The staff are dealing with backlogs in civil and family law cases, and there are queues at the counter all the time. Obviously, urgent applications are being dealt with,” the source said.