Minister Confirms 4 Year Wait For New Clonmel Garda Station

Independent TD Mattie McGrath has been told by the Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald that there will be at least a four year delay before the completion of the new Clonmel Garda Station at the proposed Kickham Barracks site. Deputy McGrath received the notification in reply to a Parliamentary Question he had placed which sought specific information on the funding allocation provided for the project:

“The development of a new District Headquarters Garda Station for Clonmel is something I have been championing for many years now. Funding for it was initially promised in 2012 by then Minister Shatter and Minister of State Tom Hayes; this never materialised despite a public statement by Tom Hayes that funding would be provided in the next round of the 2012 Capital Funding.

However Minister Fitzgerald has confirmed to me that it will now be at least 2019 before the project is complete with no guarantee that even this late date will be met given that she acknowledges the timescale for completion is dependent on the market’s response.

Effectively this means that the new Garda Station in Clonmel will arrive at least seven years after initial funding had been ‘promised’.

I am also concerned by the admission of the Minister that we are also still a significant way off from even inviting proposals for the construction of this project.

The Gardaí in Clonmel and the broader Tipperary Division need far better assurances that these by a government which quite frankly has a history on reneging on funding commitments for this project,” concluded Deputy McGrath.