1 October 2020
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
In 2019, the Garda Commissioner announced that Macroom Garda station would be changed from a District Station to a Divisional Headquarters. Although, the land for the new Garda Station was purchased five years ago, there is no visible progress to date.
Raising the matter in the Dáil last night, Fianna Fail TD for Cork North West, Aindrias Moynihan commented, “The Garda station in Macroom is very much showing its age. The need to upgrade and to replace the station has been very well established over a number of years. The Department of Justice and Equality must prioritise this project as the current station is not fit for purpose.
“I have learnt that although site surveys and ground investigations have been undertaken, the design for the new station has not yet been signed off. It is expected that the planning process, under Part 9 of the Planning Regulations, will only commence in late 2020.
“It is clear that we are at least two years away from seeing this new Garda Divisional Headquarters in Macroom. The OPW is working with the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA), An Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice and Equality in progressing this Public Private Partnership (PPP) project but projects of this scale take anywhere between 18-30 months to complete.
“I am calling on the Minister for State, Patrick O’Donovan to prioritise this project. The communities and businesses in Cork have already had to wait nearly 5 years for other parts of this PPP bundle to catch up. There should now be additional energy to prioritise and drive on the new Divisional Headquarters” concluded Deputy Moynihan.
