Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

The Department of Justice and Law Reform, the Garda Commissioner, the Office of Public Works, OPW, and local Garda management all agree the current site for Tralee's Garda station is not suitable for a divisional headquarters or appropriate to the policing demands of the Tralee district and Kerry division. For eight years, several new sites have been considered but have been found not to be suitable.

A site at Ballymullen Barracks was identified and considered the most appropriate for several reasons. It was also proposed to move the local driving test centre and part of the Courts Service to the Ballymullen site. Negotiations to ensure the transfer of the site to the Office of Public Works have been under way for some time with the Department of Defence.

While the site is not required by the Department for future purposes, it seems not to be prepared to pass it on free of charge to the OPW but insists on receiving the current value for it. The OPW is not prepared to exchange money for a site it believes is State property and will remain in State ownership if developed as a divisional Garda headquarters. Transfer of the site free of charge would make the site more attractive for the location of a new station and make financial sense.

Policing in Tralee is good with excellent interaction between the local policing committees and Oireachtas and county council members and a good relationship between the several effective community gardaí and local communities. The current premises are not suitable for modern policing requirements as they are overcrowded, lack parking facilities, are inappropriately located and probably pose health and safety risks. While the local police force is efficient and effective, its members feel these problems with the current station may affect the quality of policing they can give.

There is a precedent regarding the free-of-charge transfer of Department of Defence lands to the OPW to facilitate a new Garda station in Ballincollig, County Cork, which is under construction, on the old Collins Barracks site. Will the Minister of State clarify this when replying?

In the southern Garda region, Tralee is recognised as the third busiest station after Anglesea Street, Cork and Henry Street, Limerick, respectively. A new Garda station is critical for policing in Tralee and the surrounding areas. A new divisional headquarters would provide proper accommodation for the technology the Garda must now use to combat increasingly more sophisticated criminals. The local gardaí deserve the same accommodation enjoyed in most other parts of the country. Tralee is rapidly expanding and is one of the largest provincial towns in the country. For a town of its size, it is important that it has an appropriately sized station that can deal with the current challenges faced by its local Garda force.

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