Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 28 September 2017

Public Accounts Committee

Report on Reopening of Garda Stations: Acting Garda Commissioner

9:00 am

Photo of Marc MacSharryMarc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I have a final question for both witnesses so I do not mind who answers it.

In terms of the timing, it was mentioned earlier that with regard to Stepaside there was already a process under way. Mr. Nugent has been in contact with the OPW to advance that as quickly as possible. In terms of the timeframe following that, is it fair to say that it has taken precedence over the capital investment in Garda stations which, for example, have been partly or fully condemned but which are still operational? I refer, for example, to stations where cells cannot be used. In Sligo Garda station, for example, cells cannot be used and people are being sent to Ballymote, 15 miles away. In terms of the procurement of a site and the construction of a station, with the current one clearly being not fit for purpose, in the order of priority is Stepaside higher on the list? Did Mr. Ó Cualáin decide that it ought to be higher up on the list? How was the timeframe determined or, conversely, is that being influenced by a higher power in the Department or politics?