Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Parlon, for taking time out of his busy schedule to take this Adjournment debate.

This issue has been ongoing for some time in west Cork. At the beginning of 2002, members of the Garda Síochána, with the support of the Garda Representative Association, threatened to walk out of the Garda station in Dunmanway which has been in a state of disrepair for many years. The gardaí were at crisis point. At this juncture the Office of Public Works acquired a house opposite the Garda station into which the gardaí moved. Since then the Garda station in Dunmanway has been operating out of that house. That house is primarily a family residence and is not conducive to proper working conditions for members of the Garda Síochána. It is not wheelchair accessible and does not have interrogation rooms or a cell. It is wholly inappropriate in terms of policing. In an era when the country is awash with money it is not good enough that a Garda station should operate from a private house.

Discussions have been ongoing for some time with a local couple who own a tract of land to the rear of the Garda station. I met the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, last year with members of the community on that issue. The people concerned have made every effort to find a resolution. It has cost them an amount of money in the process of trying to satisfy legal requirements to enable the Office of Public Works to take over that plot of ground. It has been some months since there has been any tangible contact from the Department on this matter. There is no end in sight for that retired couple who have expended quite an amount of money and have gone to great trouble to make it easy for the State to take over the plot but nothing has happened.

The sub-district of Dunmanway has a population of more than 7,500 people. It is urgent that this refurbishment takes place. It has been announced on previous occasions by a candidate in the general election of 2002 who is now a Deputy and who announced it again last year. However, no work is being done. There is no physical proof to the people of Dunmanway that this long awaited and much promised refurbishment work will take place.

In September 2005, at a protest meeting which I and a number of people in the community organised, members of the Garda Representative Association met in Dunmanway en masse and protested at the lack of a proper Garda station in the area. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, travelled to Bantry on the same day to open a state-of-the-art Garda station which the people there deserve. However, on that occasion when questioned by those present, the Minister said that somebody fell asleep at the wheel and that he would ensure there was a swift response. Eight months have elapsed since we discovered that somebody was asleep at the wheel and still nothing has happened. We are approaching the next general election and there is no proof that anything will happen. There are local rumours to the effect that the Office of Public Works will not pursue the proposal to refurbish Dunmanway Garda station and that it may seek a greenfield site. This was denied when I contacted the Department in recent months but the rumour persists. I plead with the Minister of State to offer the House concrete evidence that this long awaited project will finally be given the green light. Dunmanway needs results because it is not good enough that the town does not have a decent Garda station in 2006, given that public disorder and anti-social behaviour are dominating newspaper headlines. The closure in recent years of Garda stations in other villages such as Drinagh and Ballygurteen places even greater responsibility on members of the Garda Síochána in Dunmanway who must already operate under highly unsatisfactory conditions.