Jury duty in Mayo is very hungry work

THE Courts Service has spent almost €85,000 on meals and snacks for juries in Mayo during the past five years, according to records released under the Freedom of Information Act, writes Darragh McDonagh.

A number of popular hotels, bars and restaurants in Castlebar are among the suppliers engaged by the courts to provide food and drink for jurors serving on criminal and civil trials.

They are among approximately 80 service providers contracted by the Courts Service nationally to provide meals for Circuit Court juries in jurisdictions throughout the country.

Collectively, these hotels, restaurants and catering companies were paid a total of €1,597,517 between 2011 and 2015.

In Mayo, a total of €84,956.77 was paid to a number of operators in Castlebar by the Courts Service during the same period.

Tolsters Bar on Spencer Street, which is located beside Castlebar Courthouse, received a total of €77,027.33 for jurors’ meals and contract services provided to the Courts Service in the past five years.

The TF Royal Hotel and Theatre on the Old Westport Road in Castlebar was paid €7,508.34 for the provision of meals and snacks for juries, according to official documents.

Café Rua, which has outlets on Spencer Street and New Antrim Street in the town, received €241.10 from the Courts Service for catering services provided to jurors during the same time.

Diorama Limited, which is a company in receivership previously associated with the TF Royal Theatre and Baja Browns on Rush Street, was also paid €180 for similar services.

Nationally, the firm that was paid the highest amount for catering services provided to juries was IPP CCC GP1 Limited, a company involved in the operation and maintenance of the Criminal Courts Complex in Dublin. It received a total of €838,089 in the past five years.

The Munster Bar in Waterford received €61,854 for the provision of food and beverages, while the Imperial Hotel in Galway received payments amounting to €46,312.

The list of hotels and restaurants used to cater for juries includes the Longford Arms Hotel, which is owned by Jim Reynolds, brother of the former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds. It received €7,082 over the past five years.

The figures were released by the Courts Service in response to a request made under the Freedom of Information Act.

“In general, jury meals consist of a main course and tea or coffee, or soup and a sandwich with tea and coffee,” read a statement by the Courts Service in relation to the information.