Recommendation to reopen Donard Garda Station
PLANS are afoot to have Donard Garda Station reopened following a recommendation by the Garda Commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan.
The recommendation comes as part of a review of number of smaller stations which were closed in recent years.
However, it may not be quite so easy to reopen the station which closed in 2013 as it has since been put to use as a base for the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue and Wicklow Red Cross.
According to Wicklow Fine Gael TD Andrew Doyle it is important that both organisations are engaged with.
‘I spoke to Tánaiste, Frances Fitzgerald, after this week’s Cabinet meeting and she informed me that the reopening of Donard Garda station will be recommended. This is a most important measure that will be warmly welcomed by many in the locality.
Given Donard’s strategic location, close to the N81 and a gateway to the Wicklow mountains, the reopening of the station is most welcome. I am aware that the Garda station is now a base for Red Cross who, along with the mountain rescue team provide another vital voluntary community service, so it is important that both organisations are engaged with,’ he said.
Meanwhile Sinn Féin’s John Brady TD has also welcomed the recommendation for Donard Garda Station but was critical of the manner in which the approval for the reopening of Stepaside Garda Station was handled, saying it was a trade-off for support of the appointment of Máire Whelan to the Court of Appeal.
Stepaside was the only station reopening approved by Cabinet last week, and was an issue specifically raised by Minister Shane Ross.
‘It is a pretty damning indictment of Irish politics when the reopening of a Garda station is gifted to a Senior Minister as a trade off for a quiet life for the Taoiseach, when it comes to the appointment of Máire Whelan to the Court of Appeal. Minister Ross has been content to spout utter outrage at political interference in judicial appointments that is, until there is something of benefit in it for him,’ he said.
Deputy Brady said that the reopening of Donard Garda Station is one of just a number of measures required to make communities in Wicklow feel more secure.
‘Crime right across rural areas is on the increase and we also need additional resources put into the entire county. We haven’t had any new recruits in years and that is on top of those we are losing through retirements,’ he said.
According to the Irish Red Cross, the current arrangement is a Licence to Occupy.
Liam O’Dwyer, Secretary General said ‘ To date, no contact has been received about the building in Donard. The arrangement we have with the OPW for this property is a Licence to Occupy, so we have always understood that should the need arise we would need to find an alternative property. Though we would obviously be disappointed, we are grateful to the OPW for their support of our Wicklow volunteers and charitable work in Ireland.’