Mr. Maurice Mullen:

I thank members for their questions. First, on whether the current centre in Dublin located on Leeson Lane is fit for purpose, it is owned by the State and the Office of Public Works, OPW, maintains it as fit for purpose. There are fire drills and everything else that is managed in it. We are satisfied and have had no intimation from the OPW that there is anything wrong with it as it is newly developed, etc. The second, linked, question was on the reason Dublin was first, which is a fair enough question. The centre was located in a building beside the current one, which had a significant asbestos problem and consequently it was prioritised for development. The entire centre was moved out and as part of this redevelopment of the centre in the adjoining building, the entire development, including the communications elements, was also completed. This reflects what has now been completed at Malin and shortly will be completed at Valentia as well. As for the logic for the Dublin centre, it is a station that provides both a local response in the sense that each of the three stations has particular areas for which it is responsible, as well as a national response in respect of a number of elements. Moreover, it provides a response to the majority of instances that arise.