End OPW involvement in building stations, urge gardaí

THE Garda Representative Association has demanded the Office of Public Works be removed from all involvement in building and refurbishing garda stations, because of its poor track record.

Instead the GRA, which represents 10,500 rank and file gardaí, wants the Department of Justice to take direct control of building. This would remove the OPW, which gardaí see as an unnecessary middleman.

GRA central executive committee member Owen Connell said some stations were in an appalling condition and had been for several years.