Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to answer my Adjournment matter today. I may be seen as a greedy person, because I will begin by congratulating the Office of Public Works, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and all those concerned in the major development taking place at Buncrana Garda station. I am not being greedy when I come to raise the issue of Carndonagh Garda station.

Had the Minister of State come to visit Carndonagh, he would have seen the awful conditions under which gardaí there operate. In terms of size, the Visitors Gallery in this House would probably be bigger than the Garda station in Carndonagh. When I raised the issue with the OPW, departmental staff and the Garda a number of years ago, people were surprised by what I said, other than those who had been in Carndonagh. They accepted what I said was not an exaggeration, and I was given credit for the fact that I probably did not exaggerate it when I could have.

Inishowen's population is approximately 33,000. It has a population that is 5,000 larger than Leitrim. It is the size of Louth and is a sizeable geographic entity. It is a peninsula and is close to the large population centre of Derry and is also close to Letterkenny, which is a major urban centre in Donegal.

Owing to a number of Garda stations being closed or only open during certain hours on certain days, an agreement was reached that there would be a complementary 24-hour service provided for north Inishowen. South Inishowen is being accommodated by the gardaí in Buncrana, and there is a 24-hour presence there. There were serious concerns, which I brought to the attention of various Ministers over the years, and as a result, an agreement was reached that north Inishowen would have a 24-hour facility. That was not just a Garda station, but also the ability for female gardaí to have their own space, the provision of cells, an area for people to be questioned and held, and also a holding yard for impounded vehicles. A full complex was to be put in place.

A number of years have gone by, and although I always had the impression that there was a favoured site and it was moving forward, the site was changed. I had a sense over recent months that there was a favoured site. I raised this issue on 13 February and the response I received stated:

Carndonagh is one of the priority locations on the Garda Síochána's building programme and it is intended to build a new Garda station there. A site has been identified and the Office of Public Works, which has responsibility for the construction and maintenance of Garda accommodation, is in the process of acquiring it. Once this is done, the OPW and the Garda authorities will bring forward the necessary detailed planning for the new station.

I raised the issue again on 13 May and hoped that things had moved on, but I received the same information as I did previously.

I respect that the Minister of State is new to the portfolio, and I know he will have an interest in promoting such an urgent and important piece of basic infrastructure for the Garda. If we had a plethora of stations opening all day, all week, I would not need to be here. We have a policy decision to have a major resource located in Carndonagh to serve the entire north Inishowen community. There has been no debate on the urgency or prioritisation of the need. I have watched this process closely. When the OPW, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Garda are all involved in trying to drive a project, sometimes the wheels come off the bus, as it were. I can see how it can happen.

Swift progress is being made on Buncrana Garda station. We have the right Minister of State at the helm should he be made aware of the current situation. I hope he has good news for me today.