Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Ahearn for raising this matter and for taking me to Kickham Barracks in Clonmel on a number of occasions to see the significant progress being made on the site, which in no small part is thanks to his work and advocacy. It was brilliant to see the plaza site and superb to be able to say that Kickham Barracks will be home to a new third level campus. It is one of the first campuses in the country that will incorporate further and higher education. While I am taking this matter as Minister for Justice, I am delighted, as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, to see the synergies that are now being created by way of the old barracks site.

As Senator Ahearn showed me during our most recent visit, the site will also be home to a state-of-the-art Garda station. It is a station that needs to be delivered. The people of Clonmel want to see it delivered quickly and the gardaí in the area need it. The Senator has continually advocated for its delivery and has, rightly, put pressure on us to see whether there are ways by which it could be delivered more quickly than currently envisaged. The Senator is committed, as am I, to the development of the two Garda stations he referenced, particularly the one in Clonmel. I hope he will take encouragement from the Taoiseach's convening of a meeting recently with me, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, OPW, and others to see how best we can progress this project in a satisfactory timeframe and whether it is possible to progress it more quickly. I am not in a position today to go further than to say these discussions are continuing between our teams and officials. I hope the Senator and the people of Clonmel will take encouragement from the impetus the Taoiseach has put into this issue being examined and explored to see whether there is a quicker way of progressing. I give my assurance that I will keep him and the House directly updated as soon as it is possible and appropriate to do so, which will be when those discussions bottom out.

The Garda building and refurbishment programme is based on agreed Garda priorities. It benefits more than 30 locations around the country and is underpinned by significant Exchequer funding across both the Garda and OPW Votes. The programme includes the major public private partnership, PPP, project the Senator referenced. The goal of this investment is to address deficiencies in the Garda estate and provide fit-for-purpose facilities for Garda members and staff and for the public interacting with them. The Senator is correct that both the Cork county divisional headquarters in Macroom and the new Garda station in Clonmel have been identified as priorities and are currently part of a Department of Justice PPP along with the family law court facility in Hammond Lane, Dublin 7. Planning permission for the new Garda stations was granted in early 2021.

In regard to the PPP more broadly, formal project structures have been established, including a project board and project team. We will continue to engage closely with the Taoiseach's team and with my colleagues, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, specifically in regard to Clonmel and Macroom and the needs of people in Clonmel in respect of the issues the Senator raised. When it is appropriate to do so and when those discussions have bottomed out, I will be happy to update the Senator. I want him to know that the Government, including the Taoiseach, and I are very committed to seeing this Garda station delivered as quickly as possible. We will explore the best ways to go about this and we will finalise the discussions as quickly as we can.