John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Law and order and justice are values which my party hold very dear. They are values I share. I am proud that since 2011 we have had a 54% increase in Garda numbers in my own county of Waterford, with a similar, if not greater, increase in civilian staff numbers. We have also seen huge increases in terms of the Garda fleet and the development of specific units within An Garda Síochána. All of those gardaí and civilian personnel have to go somewhere and for that reason we need continued investment in our Garda stations. I am speaking specifically about the divisional headquarters in Waterford, which I visited last week with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan.The station was state of the art when it was built or further developed some 20 years ago, but it now needs significant investment and an increase in its size in order to meet the demands of the new policing organisational plans in terms of divisions. In fact, the Waterford Garda station will hold the control room for the entire eastern division, with 999 calls from counties Meath, Westmeath, Laois, Offaly, Kildare, Wexford, Wicklow, Waterford, Kilkenny and Carlow all being dealt with in Waterford. In order to facilitate that development, the station needs reconfiguration and changes within the existing footprint. It also needs an extension above the single-storey development to be developed in order to cater for the growing needs of the station, division and region. I would welcome a debate with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on the capital plan that is currently being devised between An Garda Síochána, the Department of Justice and the Office of Public Works to ensure we specifically pinpoint areas that need critical infrastructure in order to roll out the changes envisaged by An Garda Síochána.