Senator Cecilia Keaveney, in the adjournment debate in the Seanad on Tuesday, called on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to show leadership in delivering the new Garda station in Carndonagh. She said it was vital to ensure a proper service which would meet the needs of the North Inishowen population as promised in recent years.
Senator Keaveney commented: “I was told in February that it is a Garda priority to build a new Garda station in Carndonagh. At that point a site had been identified. The Office of Public Works, which has responsibility for the construction and maint
enance of Garda accommodation, was in the process of acquiring it back in February. I ask where this process stands at the moment?”
She went on: “One of the last functions of the former Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, was to turn the sod for the new Garda station at Buncrana, a €24 million investment. At one point I thought the Buncrana and Carndonagh stations would run in tandem in terms of acquisition of sites and building. Ultimately, there is a 24 hour service in Buncrana, but anyone who knows Inishowen will appreciate the sheer distance from one side to the other. The decision to build a Garda Station for the North of the peninsula is an important decision for the entire peninsula as it will ease the pressure on Buncrana when completed. Currently though we all know the restraints of the Carndonagh Garda station. Indeed it is so small that it would fit in the Visitors Gallery of the Seanad.”
There is no debate as regards the need for the new station, but there is certain a need for more urgency, as far as I am concerned. Senator Keaveney said the Office of Public Works needs to complete the site acquisition if it is not already done. The Garda authorities need to have their plans worked up because, she said, it has been looked at and talked about for a long time. She added that she wanted to keep up the pressure to ensure that it becomes a reality as soon as possible.
She concluded: “There are some 30,000 people in Inishowen, which in demographic and geographical terms is equivalent to Counties Louth or Leitrim. Carndonagh Garda personnel are forced to work in impossible conditions and it is for them and the people of the peninsula that I wish to see this situation moved on and will continue to raise it at a national level."
