Croke Park will host criminal trials over the coming weeks in a deal worth €437,000 to the GAA.

The deal will see three courts opened at the iconic Dublin stadium for the first three months of the year.

It will allow trials to be held in a “suitable and safe” environment while coronavirus restrictions remain in force – with a total of 200 court sitting days to be held at the venue from mid-January to March.

The Courts Service said the deal is part of its plan to ensure as much court business as possible can continue safely during the pandemic.

The State is also paying out around €302,000 in other costs relating to the use of the venue – including security, catering, and other ICT costs. It said much of the new IT equipment will be “re-purposed and used” in other court venues after the Croke Park deal ends.

It means the deal is costing the State around €740,000 in total.

File photo of Croke Park, 18-03-2020. Image: Brian Lawless/PA Archive/PA Images

Trials that are expected to last the longest will be held at the venue, with the Criminal Courts of Justice on Parkgate Street continuing to host the capital’s shorter trials.

Courts Service CEO Angela Denning said: “We have been challenged across the country to try and facilitate criminal trials, in suitable and safe locations amidst our responsibilities to keep courts operational and staff, the Judiciary, jurors and court users safe.

“Outside Dublin we have being using 12 venues across the country and feedback from jurors and others has been very positive.

“We will use Croke Park to ensure this track record of safety is continued as we provide access to justice in safe and suitable conditions.”

Croke Park

Croke Park was chosen by a Courts Service team involving health and safety, operations, ICT and facilities management staff following months of planning.

The service said the venue “the optimum solution to safely run these hearings in the new year, so as to continue to provide access to justice during the pandemic.”

Croke Park Head of Stadium Business Mark Dorman said it is “appropriate that this great national venue should be used as a vital support for the democratic functioning of the country.”

“Croke Park is not unused to great adversarial battles and provides a suitable arena to hold courts,” he said.

“The GAA welcomes the courts to Croke Park and hopes we can build on the relationship that has been established over the years by GAA clubs regularly hosting court sittings, when needed.”

Digitisation

The Courts Service said COVID-19 has had a modernising effect on the system with a total of 2,100 digital court hearings were held in Ireland between April and December.

Some 10,754 video calls made from courts to prisons from March to November – a quadrupling of last year’s figures.