Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Keaveney. I share her affection for the peninsula of Inishowen. An ancestor of mine, Eleanor O'Doherty, was the sister of Sir Cahir O'Doherty. I have positive family connections. I wish what I had to say on this matter brought her more comfort.

Demographic changes in the Carndonagh area of County Donegal and an increasingly busy operational environment for the Garda Síochána have placed a considerable level of demand on the local Garda service. It has become evident over time that the existing station facility at Carndonagh, which was built in the 1960s, has become inadequate to accommodate Garda operational requirements to modern standards and, indeed, into the future. Accordingly, in 2006, the Garda Síochána requested the Office of Public Works to procure a development site in Carndonagh on which a new, larger station facility could be located. In recent months, after a public procurement process, the OPW successfully identified a site in Carndonagh suitable to Garda management. While no contract to purchase this site has been signed as yet, negotiations are at an advanced stage.

As the Senator will appreciate, because of the commercial sensitivity of this process, I am not able to give more details of the terms of the purchase at this time. Concluding this purchase will also depend on the availability of resources and the priority accorded to the project by the Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The policy choices are made by the Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. We simply execute their wishes.

Financial provision for projects proceeding to construction is provided from the annual provision of the Garda building programme. Prioritisation of projects in that programme is a matter for the Department of Justice, Equality, and Law Reform and the Garda Síochána in the first instance. The prioritisation of the acquisition of this site and the commitment of funds to conclude the purchase is a matter for decision by them. Once a development site has been acquired at Carndonagh, the next step in progressing the project to construction would be for Garda management to provide a brief of requirements to the OPW which would clarify the scale and operational profile of a new Garda facility for the Carndonagh area.

There is no dispute about the need for a new Garda station. A fair amount of work has been advanced not only to identify a site but to negotiate terms of purchase, although that has not yet been finalised. It is a question of priority. There are similar requirements and situations, not only in Senator Keaveney's constituency but also in my own and every one throughout the country.