The lack of progress on the long awaited new Garda Station for Clonmel has been raised in the Seanad.
Plans have been in place for some time to relocate the force from their current base on Emmet Street in the town to the former Kickham Barracks site.
Senator Garret Ahearn has called for discussions with Justice Minister Helen McEntee on the delays.
The Clonmel station is linked with a new station for Macroom and the Children’s Court in Dublin – while Clonmel and Macroom are ready to go the Children’s Court is holding them back.
“It’s hugely frustrating for all the Gardaí who work in the District. It’s something they’ve been waiting for for a long time.
“I’d ask anyone to come to see the conditions in Clonmel – it’s not fit for purpose at all. Whether it’s for the people working there or for the public coming in.
“A new Garda station would do an awful lot to build morale within the force in the area and its incredibly frustrating that through no fault of their own it hasn’t progressed.”
The new Garda base will be at the former Kickham Barracks site in Clonmel which will also be home to a public plaza and an educational campus.
Senator Ahearn says many officers in Clonmel believe they will be long retired before the town gets a new Garda Station.
“There’s a real problem with the slow progress of the Garda station. I hope the Minister will be able to come to Tipperary or to Clonmel at some point soon.
“But we really do need some sort of clarity. When you speak to gardai now there’s a lot of them there who genuinely believe they’ll be well retired before this station is ever built.”
