Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

Officials from the Department are happy to be engaged in discussions and if an appropriate arrangement can be agreed, I would be happy to be of assistance. Some further work needs to be done on the matter.

I confirm that among the groups or individuals which have shown an interest in the barracks is the VEC. I understand discussions are ongoing in that context and I am optimistic that there will be some fruitful development from those discussions. I do not want to pre-empt decisions and I am conscious that there is some way to go on that issue, which involves not just decisions by the VEC and the Department of Defence but matters that must be addressed by the Department of Education and Skills. There has been constructive engagement and I would welcome progress.

As I was saying to Deputy McGrath when Deputy Healy came into the House, I am conscious, wearing the two hats I have, of the need for a new Garda station. I also know that a portion of the barracks could provide a very good location for a new Garda station. The difficulty is that the Office of Public Works, OPW, the group within the Government which funds the construction of Garda stations, has very limited available funding. We are giving serious consideration to facilitating the reservation of space that would help in building a Garda station at a time when funding becomes available. We are anxious not to make decisions that would create a difficulty in that context but, unfortunately, in current financial circumstances a number of Garda stations are required in various parts of the State as a consequence of others either being in poor condition or not meeting the needs of areas that have seen expansion. A number of these projects will be put on hold for some time.

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