Ross loses fight for 24hr Garda station
Commissioner Harris doesn’t see Dublin site as priority
SHANE Ross has lost a major political battle as a Garda station will not be fully reopened.
The Stepaside site in Dublin will only be in operation for daytime hours with a skeleton crew.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has told the Government he does not see it as top priority and that it will only be given a small allocation of available resources.
The news will come as a shock to the Transport Minister whose campaign revolved around his “beloved” station being reopened fully.
Stepaside was one of 139 sites closed between 2012 and 2013 due to huge cuts across the country.
The Irish Mirror understands the new €1.5million station will only hold four to five gardai at any one time and that most of those will be community officers. A source said: “Shane Ross is going to be hopping mad over this.
“He promised a 24-hour fully functioning station and it’s not going to happen. Extra resources should be going to Pearse Street, Store Street and other areas such as Blanchardstown and Finglas.
“It’s simply not going to happen. It was a political decision to reopen and the Commissioner does not support that decision.”
A fortnight ago Mr Ross said the station was “well and truly on the way to being reopened”. Despite his website saying his priority is to see it fully functioning, it has been long hinted it wasn’t high on the agenda.
Assistant Commissioner Pat Leahy previously said it was not a “No1 priority” due to “other pressing demands on resources”.
He added: “If I was being given extra additional manpower today, Stepaside would not be my first allocation. I could not send guards to Stepaside before I’d send them to Ballyfermot and Ronanstown and the North Inner City.”
Mr Ross has been contacted for comment.