The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter, T.D., has welcomed today’s announcement by the Government that a total of €190m will be invested in a range of Garda and courts capital projects as well as a new laboratory for the State Pathologist.
The Government has approved the provision of three new Garda Divisional Headquarters for the Dublin South Central, Galway and Wexford Divisions. In addition the Government has approved court refurbishment developments in Cork, Mullingar and Waterford as well as new courts buildings in Drogheda, Letterkenny, Limerick and Wexford. The Minister said: “The provision of the three new Garda Divisional headquarters will significantly enhance the capacity of the Force to carry out its functions more effectively. 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.
Furthermore, the enhancement of courts facilities around the country will help to deliver improvements leading to reduced waiting times and reduced costs of litigation. The improvements in court buildings in city and county town locations around the country will allow the rationalisation of court sittings and help to deliver efficiencies in delivering services through the use of improved facilities and technology.
These priority projects had been postponed due to funding shortages and I am delighted the Government has decided to proceed with this much needed investment. The capital investment in these venues will be designed to operate as efficiently as possible with a view to eliminating many of the space, security and safety, and prisoner management problems and associated risks with the current facilities.
The facility for the Office of the State Pathologist and the Dublin Coroner will allow a project known as the “medico-legal centre”, which had been postponed due to lack of funding, to be completed. It will incorporate post-mortem rooms, laboratories and modern mortuary facilities for use by the Office of the State Pathologist and the Dublin Coroner in a shared service environment. The state of the art facility will play a vital role in death investigation process and provide enhanced facilities for staff, professionals and members of the public.
It is expected that the projects will commence in 2013 and construction will continue during 2014 and 2015. ”
17 July 2012
Notes for Editors
Details of the approved Garda projects Dublin South Central The new Divisional Headquarters will be located at Kevin Street, Dublin 2. A site has already been acquired for the project.
Galway The new Divisional Headquarters will also serve as the Garda Regional Headquarters for the Garda Western Region. A site has been procured.
Wexford A site for the new Divisional headquarters has been secured.
Details of the approved courts projects Wexford Court business in Wexford is split between two different buildings, neither of which has custody facilities. A site has been acquired from the council for a new development.
Waterford The courthouse is not sufficient to deal with the volume of business in the city. A site adjoining the courthouse has been acquired for the extension of the courthouse.
Mullingar The courthouse is in poor condition and staff have been moved to temporary leased accommodation.
Limerick There is a need for additional courtroom space. The existing District Court courtroom is inadequate and custody facilities are very limited. Additional office space is also required as staff are in leased accommodation. Discussions are ongoing regarding acquiring a state owned site.
Cork The facilities in the courthouse in Anglesea Street are very limited with inadequate courtroom space, inadequate custody facilities and a shortage of space for staff, some of whom are in leased accommodation. An adjoining site in state ownership has been earmarked for the development.
Letterkenny The courthouse has inadequate facilities and there is no scope for expansion on the existing site. A new site has been acquired nearby for a new development.
Drogheda The District court currently sits in a leased premises and a site has been acquired for a new development.
Office of the State Pathologist and the Dublin Coroner Dublin : Medico-Legal Centre This is a significant project to provide new state of the art facilities for the Office of the State Pathologist headed by Professor Marie Cassidy and the Dublin District Coroner, Dr Brian Farrell. Building work had actually commenced on this shared service project in Marino, Dublin 3 on a site owned by Dublin City Council but the project was subsequently postponed due to insufficient funding. The new funding will allow now this project to be recommenced.