Dáil debates

Tuesday, 20 March 2007

10:00 pm

Photo of Denis O'DonovanDenis O'Donovan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)

I compliment the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, and his predecessor, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue, on the excellent work done in my constituency in recent years. Cork South-West has the second lowest crime rate in Ireland. Last year, the Minister opened a brand new €12.5 million Garda station in Bantry, a new station is being built in Schull — a hobby horse of mine for a long time — major refurbishment has taken place at Castletownbere Garda station and we have a new Garda headquarters in Bandon.

In Dunmanway, the six gardaí stationed in the town are housed in a building rented by the Office of Public Works to facilitate gardaí in carrying out their duties. The old station in Dunmanway is almost derelict and has experienced problems for a number of years. A debate is taking place on whether it should be refurbished. Approximately six years ago, while a Senator, I received a letter gleefully announcing that the station would be refurbished and that a sum of around €160,000 had been allocated for this purpose. Subsequently a problem arose concerning access and a legal wrangle which has dragged on for many years ensued.

The community in Dunmanway is irate and the town's gardaí are not happy that they are housed in temporary accommodation without cell facilities. In the event that a prisoner must be kept overnight, he or she must be brought by gardaí to Bandon or Clonakilty. The community which the Garda supports is concerned about the unprecedented delay in either refurbishing the old station or providing a new station. When a greenfield site across the road from the old barracks was put up for sale many people believed it should have been purchased and a new station built thereon.

It is clear that action is needed regarding the Garda station in Dunmanway. The Garda Representative Association is angry — the word "militant" may be too strong — that its members are using a substandard station with the result that the community they serve in the Dunmanway area is not receiving the service it deserves. This issue has been a hobby horse of mine and I have discussed it repeatedly with the relevant Ministers, including the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Parlon, and officials from the Office of Public Works. I hope urgent action will be taken to provide the facilities the gardaí and members of the community in Dunmanway deserve.

I have put the problem in a nutshell and hope the Minister will be able to clarify the current position for me and people in west Cork. The community in the Dunmanway area is law abiding but there is a considerable anger that a commitment given many years ago either to build a new Garda station or refurbish the old one has not been acted on. With these few brief words, I rest my case in the hope that moneys will be provided to refurbish the old Garda station and a resolution will be found to legal difficulties, primarily concerning a right of access to the rear of the Garda station.

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