'Gardaí stationed in the largest town in Tipperary need a proper and modern base,' says Deputy Michael Lowry

"Having the provision of the new Garda Station in Clonmel linked to the building of a Family Law Court in Dublin is causing an unacceptable and untenable delay for the Tipperary project. This scenario has been dragging on for way too long and it has to be resolved," says Deputy Michael Lowry.

"Clonmel has been waiting and in need of a new Garda Station for decades. Planning Permission is currently in place and, importantly, the funding is also ring-fenced. 

"Approval in principle for the Family Law Court was only granted last year. This could mean that final approval could be months away.

"Yet the Tipperary project is being delayed and stalled until everything is in place to allow the provision of the Family Law Court in Dublin to commence. 

"Tipperary is delayed until Dublin catches up," he says.

"As long as the Clonmel project remains linked to the provision of the Family Law Court in Dublin nothing will happen in the immediate future. 

"Taking into account the time that it will take to build the new station in Clonmel, it is possible that it will not become a physical reality for several more years. This is not acceptable. 

"The provision of the new Garda Station in Clonmel can not realistically wait that long. The Gardaí stationed in the largest town in Tipperary need a proper and modern base.

"In fact, it was agreed that they needed it many years ago, yet it still has not been delivered," he says.

"I am calling on the Government to examine ways in which the link between the Dublin project and the Tipperary project can be broken. It is not fair or feasible to continually delay one project until another is ready to commence," he states. 

Deputy Lowry has questioned the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Plan Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, on this matter several times.

He says that the latest response he received stated that the Department of Justice, who are the approving authority under the Public Spending Code, provided approval in principle to the An Garda Síochána (and Courts Service) in June 2022 to proceed with the project under the PPP mechanism. 

Formal project structures have been established including a project board and project team, comprising representatives from the OPW, An Garda Síochána, the Department of Justice, the Courts Service and the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) in order to progress the project as quickly as possible.

"I want a more definitive and satisfactory answer than this. Saying ’as quickly as possible’ is a vague and imprecise answer. I will persist in raising this matter with the Minister and the relevant Departments until I get conclusive answers for the people of Clonmel," says Deputy Lowry.