Gardaí call off station walkout

GARDAÍ yesterday called off a protest walk-out planned for today at the 75-year-old, overcrowded Finglas garda station.

Over 80 gardaí had been expected to be involved in the protest at the Dublin station.

However, the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors said the members had agreed to wait for a site for a new station to be rezoned.

“They have received a categoric assurance that measures will be taken to proceed with the planning permission on the Mellows Road site in Finglas,” said spokesman Austin Kenny.

He said Dublin City Council planned to rezone the site from amenity to commercial. “If that rezoning doesn’t take place by July 1, the walk-out will go ahead.”

He said he hoped the new station could be built within a year. The Garda Representative Association commissioned a health and safety audit of Finglas Garda Station last year, which found that it was in very poor condition. It said emergency exits were blocked, floors were dirty and there were no female toilets.

“Overall, there is massive overcrowding and gardaí work in sub-optimal conditions,” it said. Over a dozen major murder investigations have been based in Finglas station the past five years. But some operations have had to be relocated to Blanchardstown Garda Station.