Gardaí and firms voice concerns over ‘deathtrap’ station

A major business organisation and the country’s largest Garda representative body have both expressed concern about the lack of progress in replacing a Garda station which has been described as “a deathtrap”.

In October 2015, the Government announced it would spend €3m on a new Garda station for Glanmire, Co Cork. However, since then, there has been no announcement about where or when it is to be built.

Little Island Business Association (LIBA), which represents 1,000 members who come under the jurisdiction of the Glanmire Garda District, has written to both the Garda Commissioner and Minister for Justice asking them to clarify the issue.

LIBA chief executive Michael Mulcahy said that his members were anxious to know where the new station will be built and to get a timeline for its construction.

LIBA has also asked both Garda Commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald to initiate a review of Little Island and based on the profile of the area, its residents and businesses, ascertain if a Garda station and/or Garda presence is specifically required there.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) says it is also concerned that it had heard nothing more about building a new station since early 2016.

GRA central executive committee member Michael Corcoran said his organisation had received no briefing on the Glanmire situation since early 2016 and he “hadn’t been made aware of any movement on it”.

Garda Corcoran described conditions at the station as “deplorable” and added that despite all the adverse publicity about it over the years little had been done to improve the lot of colleagues working out of there.

Former GRA president John Parker described the former RIC barracks as a “deathtrap” because there is no fire escape for gardaí occupying the three-storey building. Huge chunks of plaster have fallen off the walls and the wooden staircase is in a very bad state of repair.

Garda Corcoran said that members of the public only see the ground-floor public office and would be “appalled” if the saw conditions in the rest of the building.

In addition, there is no disabled access and no secure parking available for the patrol cars, or private cars belonging to gardaí.

Prior to the 2011 General Election, an announcement was made that a suitable location had been found for a new station, but that was put on hold after legal issues arose between the OPW and the owner of the location.

Garda Corcoran said the GRA would be seeking a meeting with the civil servant directly responsible for building garda stations.

He said it was unfair to have gardaí endure such Dickensian conditions.