Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Defence the progress that has been made in arranging an alternative use for the former Kickham Barracks site in Clonmel, County Tipperary; if he has examined the option of relocating the Clonmel Garda Station to the barracks location; when this matter will be finalised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48757/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Since the announcement of the Government decision on barrack closures in November 2011, the Department of Defence has written to each Government Department and various agencies and local authorities seeking expressions of interest in acquiring any of the properties to benefit the local community.

In this regard, there have been discussions between officials from the Department and a number of other State agencies, including the Department of Justice and Equality - I am also the Minister for Justice and Equality - in relation to the sale of a portion of the barracks in Clonmel for a new Garda station, an issue in which the Deputy is particularly interested. These discussions are ongoing. I assure the Deputy that every effort will be made to dispose of the barracks so as to maximise the benefits to the local community.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I am glad to hear the response from the Minister. He mentioned that the barracks has been closed for 12 months. It is on a fine urban site of almost 14 acres.

The Minister also mentioned that he is also Minister for Justice and Equality. Surely we can short-circuit the discussions that are ongoing. The Department of Defence is engaged in discussions with a number of groups. I support that. There is plenty of room to accommodate all of them. It is most vital, however, that we get suitable accommodation for the Garda station in Clonmel. The current station is in a primitive Dickensian building that is not fit for use by the Garda or the public.

I appeal to the Minister, who is also the Minister for Justice and Equality, to cut out the red tape, the jargon and the dealings with the Office of Public Works.

The site is owned by the Department of Justice and Equality and the Department of Defence. Surely we can submit plans and give the go ahead for the Garda barracks to be sited there. It is a great site and a Garda station is needed in Clonmel more than anywhere else in the country. It is the second biggest inland town in the State and the current barracks is Dickensian. It does not even belong to the Department; it is leased from the country council.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy knows the Government he supported in this House for many years left the gardaí in the circumstances and conditions he is referring to. At a time when the Government he supported was flaithiúlach with money, it did not provide the funding needed to provide the Garda station.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I do not want to hear that. The barracks was not closed then.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I am sorry if the truth gets in the way of the fiction the Deputy likes to constantly perpetrate in this Chamber. The reality is that he supported a Government for years that failed to provide the new Garda station that was needed so let us not make a big thing about it here today as if it is newly discovered.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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There was no vacant site there at that time. This is a vacant site now. The Minister is being political about this.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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We are looking at the possibility of providing a Garda facility within the confines of the barracks. It is an issue that does not just involve my Department. It also involves the Office of Public Works, which is responsible for constructing Garda stations and acquiring sites for them.

As the Deputy knows well, this property is owned by the Department of Defence and, as was the case with the previous Governments he supported, it is recognised that barracks which closed were valuable assets. Funding realised from their sale is kept within the Defence Forces for resourcing purposes at a time when we are all concerned to ensure the Defence Forces have adequate resources so they can maintain their high skill levels and efficiencies. I have an obligation as Minister for Defence to ensure when new arrangements are put in place, some value for the barracks derives to the Department of Defence for the benefit of the Defence Forces. Wearing both my hats, I assure the Deputy we are constructively engaged in addressing this issue.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I am disgusted with the answer. The Minister wants to politicise the issue. The barracks has been empty for 12 months. I do not want to get into the nitty-gritty of going back and forth but the site is available now. Will the Minister have a meeting with himself on this? He does not meet with many other people and he treats people in deputations with distinct distaste. He does not want to meet people, as we found out when we met him in Clonmel before. Perhaps he could meet himself and put one hat on one day and another hat on another day.

This is patent nonsense. He owns the site; the last Government did not own the site. I have no problems with being a part of the last Government - I accept it - but there is a vacant site now and it is owned by the Minister for Defence, who is also the Minister for Justice and Equality. It is clear there is a conflict here. He cannot handle either side and does not know what way to move. He should bring in the OPW, which is also involved. We need a Garda station and the site is there. The money must go back to the Department of Defence but we need a Garda station. The Minister should be proactive for once in a public position, instead of being so proactive in many other ways. I also ask him not to be so political.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy should give serious consideration to applying to participate in the Kilkenny comedy weekend which is run on an annualised basis.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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The Minister would not get much comedy.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I am sure he would be a star turn.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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The Minister would not be the star turn. It would be "Sesame Street" with him.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy seemed to miss, the Office of Public Works has responsibility for Garda stations. If the funding must be provided, it will come from the OPW and resources must be identified. I know the Deputy finds it difficult to make the connection between the provision of a Garda station and identifying the funding necessary to provide it, but that is the reality and it is an issue to which we must now give serious consideration.