Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)

After the confusion of last week, I thank the Minister for coming in himself to deal with this issue. There are a range of issues relating to resources for An Garda Síochána that I discussed with the GRA and the AGSI yesterday. Today, I specifically ask about the resource the public knows as our Garda stations. In particular, is the Minister aware of the report done by the Office of Public Works, with the State Claims Agency and An Garda Síochána, in December 2016 on a review of asbestos surveys of Garda buildings? Will he confirm whether he is and whether the Commissioner or Department has informed him of this or not? The report states that 74 stations are affected by asbestos. The director of the State Claims Agency at the time, Mr. Pat Kirwan, said that 12 Garda stations in particular were very badly affected and remedial works would have to commence within three months. That was nine years ago. The work has not happened. The 12 stations are Mountjoy, Kevin Street, Naas, Santry, where some works have happened, Bandon, Kilmainham, Ashbourne, Newcastle West, Baltinglass, Tramore, Blackrock and Blessington.

On 3 January 2017, this report was sent to the head of Garda health and safety and copied to the head of the Garda estate. It was titled as "necessary attention". We then had nothing. It went into the abyss. We then had an issue at Santry Garda station, which the Minister is probably aware of, where the station ended up having to be closed in January of this year because of an issue with asbestos. I have a query about the certificate given for reoccupation and where that stands. He might come back to me on that. There is a real issue here regarding health and safety, obviously, in the exposure to gardaí, the public, contractors, etc., but also in respect of the correspondence in the report, where Mr Kirwan, director of the State Claims Agency, said that unless the remedial work was undertaken, the State Claims Agency would be unable to defend future claims. Why was that not acted on? Have we exposed the State to considerable liability?

This is before, as I am sure the Minister is aware, the asbestos directive from the EU has to be transposed into law by 21 December this year. That provides for a ten times decrease in maximum occupational exposure limits. We did not act from 2016 until now to the scale required. The SCA said in 2016 that we were exposed in respect of these Garda stations; I have a list of those stations and what is required in all of them. If we are exposed to that level and this directive has to be transposed by 21 December this year, where does that leave us as regards any gardaí who have been sick in the intervening years, who have had respiratory issues or possibly had issues in relation to cancer, where Garda members have been pregnant, where there have been issues regarding contractors and maybe even issues in respect of members of the public? Where are we on this? Was the Minister aware of this? What remedial actions are happening? What is the plan? Was the Minister told about this issue by the Garda Commissioner? It looks like he tells the Minister very little.

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