There appears to be some progress on the long awaited new Garda station for Clonmel.
The new building has already received planning permission on part of the Kickham Barracks site.
However the project has been bundled with a new Garda station in Macroom and the Children’s Court in Dublin.
Deputy Mattie McGrath called on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to remove the Court project from the equation as it was slowing it down.
“The new Children’s Court is a way different vehicle altogether so I’m asking you please to ask the Minister for Justice to remove us out of that bundle with the Children’s Court. Different buildings, different architects for Public/Private Partnerships and all.
“No problem with other Garda stations but the fact that we’re lumped in now with the new Children’s Court is totally off the wall stuff and is further delaying – and could delay it for years to come. It’s not acceptable to the Gardaí in Clonmel or the public.”
Leo Varadkar said this option was already being examined.
“We had a meeting this week involving Minister Donohoe, me, Minister O’Donovan on the OPW and Minister Harris and we are now examining that option – splitting the Garda station projects out from the Courts project which might allow them to go ahead quicker.
“We just want to be sure that’s the case and we also need to work out how we would reprofile the funding – it wouldn’t cost anymore to do it but the funding line would fall differently and that’s being worked on at the moment.”
