Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and his office for selecting for discussion what is an important issue on the ground in Sligo and a significant issue for the men and women of the Garda there who have to work day and night in a dangerous, unsafe and outdated station.

During October 2015, I was delighted to be able to announce to my constituents that, after much negotiation and representation from my office, County Sligo was to be allocated a new regional Garda headquarters under the Garda capital investment programme. That Sligo was earmarked to receive this new top-of-the-range Garda facility lifted the spirits in the Garda force locally and gave a vote of confidence to Sligo in general as a regional town which the Government was keen on investing in and improving. I thank the Minister for his attendance at this debate but, much to my disappointment at the time, the progress made on this project since the original announcement by the former Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald, has been unacceptable.

It is clear to me from the OPW's responses that I have received to parliamentary questions that there have been few or no developments in real terms on delivering on this issue since 2015. I have been advised that the site allocation period for acquiring a suitable location in Sligo for a new Garda station has been longer than anticipated and has been under way since January 2017.

Why has this only been the case with the Sligo Garda station? While I understand that the former Minister reaffirmed last February that the delivery of a new regional Garda station to Sligo remained a Government priority, we are still no clearer on questions like where the site will be located, when construction will start and how long it will take before the people we trust to uphold law and order in my constituency of Sligo, Leitrim, south Donegal and west Cavan are given the safe working conditions they deserve to be able conduct their work.

The Minister will be aware that the lack of progress with the new Garda station is holding up the development of two other stations, one in Macroom and the other in Clonmel, because they are lumped in as part of a single public private partnership project. For some reason, those two projects are at a much more advanced stage than the Sligo project.

The urgency on my part regarding this issue comes after reading a damning report conducted by Michael Reilly & Associates, which the Garda Representative Association commissioned this year to evaluate the overall health and safety problems at the station in question. The report's findings are shocking and raise several issues of concern that only a new station would address. For example, the report identified serious health and safety issues, including infestation by rodents, ventilation problems, poor heating and dampness, limited and inadequate toilet and shower facilities, leaking toilets, failures in building compliance, fire safety failures, failures in HSE health and safety procedures and requirements, hazardous safety issues, cramped public spaces, limited and outdated cell accommodation, inadequate canteen facilities, lack of interviewing rooms, no garage facilities, poor office accommodation, little or no IT infrastructure, limited file storage areas, no purpose-built armoury and many other serious items of concern.

From reading the report, it is clear that gardaí in Sligo are not being given the tools, resources and standards required to do their jobs effectively in combating crime in the Sligo-Leitrim division.

Will the Minister explain to me what is happening with regard to the development of the new Garda station in Sligo? Will he explain to me why there has been such a long delay in Sligo as opposed to the other two areas? Will he advise me as to when we can expect a site to be identified and construction to start on the new Garda station in Sligo?

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