€190m for forensic and garda services

Some €190m will be invested in the State Pathology Laboratory, three new Garda divisional headquarters, and a number of courthouses.

The State Pathology Lab is currently housed in portable buildings in a fire brigade training centre in Marino, Dublin.

Construction work had already commenced on new state-of-the-art facilities, only to be paused because of insufficient funding. Yesterday’s announcement will allow work to resume.

The development will include postmortem rooms, laboratories and modern mortuary facilities for use by the State Pathologist and the Dublin Coroner.

Three new Garda divisional headquarters will be constructed for the Dublin South Central, Galway and Wexford divisions.

“The current Garda accommodation at the three locations does not meet modern policing requirements and the new facilities will constitute a major modernisation of Garda infrastructure,” Justice Minister Alan Shatter said.

Refurbishment and extension works will be carried out to courthouses in Cork, Mullingar and Waterford.

The Cork announcement relates to the existing facilities at the courthouse in Anglesea Street, which are considered inadequate. An adjoining site owned by the State has been earmarked for an extension.

Similarly, in Waterford, the courthouse is not sufficient to deal with the volume of proceedings. An adjoining site has been acquired for an extension.

In Mullingar, the courthouse is in bad condition and staff have moved to temporary accommodation.

All projects are to have commence by next year and continue to 2015.