THE MASTER OF the High Court has defended breaking windows in a Four Courts courtroom, claiming there were issues with ventilation. 

Edmund Honohan said when he leaves his courtroom at the end of the day it’s sealed, leaving stale air in it until the following morning when the door is opened again. 

Speaking to RTÉ Radio One’s Sean O’Rourke today, Honohan said it has been an issue for at least 10 years. 

“When the heating is on and the windows are closed because it’s cold outside, then you have a situation where … the temperature rises, the stale air is stale, the ventilation system is not working,” Honohan said. 

The issue was first reported in the Sunday Times last weekend, in which Honohan said there was a “fug” in the stuffy courtroom that was making him ill. 

The Courts Service’s press office confirmed that Honohan had raised the issue of the courtroom’s air conditioning before Christmas. It also confirmed that the Courts Service had arranged to have the broken window panes replaced.  

Honohan said that he brought a hammer in from home and broke the windows. 

“The only way to get rid of a window is to break it,” he said. 

“I left a message on it saying do not re-glaze, but that, of course, that was ignored.” 

Honohan added that, if necessary, he would do it again. 

He had said that he would not sit in the courtroom again until the matter was resolved. 

However, Honohan now feels the matter has been resolved and said they’ve unsealed the windows that open on to the corridors, something which he said is “a vast improvement”.