James Heffernan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He said 16 Garda stations have been assigned to community groups. Did all of the 16 properties have to go through the same process whereby, first, the option of disposing it on the open market was considered and in the event of a lack of interest then the community groups were given preference?

The Minister of State said the cost to date of the maintenance of the closed stations is €136,000. How many stations are involved? It is not clear from the response. What is the average cost per station? The Minister of State said he would outline the timeline of the disposal of the Garda station in my area. That is fair enough. Given the state of the open market, the property could be sold in two weeks or in 12 months. In the meantime, would it be possible to make the property available for the use of the club? I do not suggest that a lease would be signed with a community group during the sale process but instead of the property lying idle while waiting to be sold, could the Department come to an agreement with the local club for the use of the building until such time as it is sold?