Derelict Garda stations ‘could help ease rural housing crisis’
FORTY-NINE rural Garda stations that were closed after the collapse of the Celtic Tiger have still not been sold off and remain idle, the Irish Mail on Sunday has learned.
The decision to close 139 Garda stations across the country as part of the austerity programme in 2012-2013 sparked controversy, with critics accusing the then government of ‘de-policing’ rural Ireland.
These concerns were mitigated at the time by promises that other uses would be found for the portfolio of Garda buildings in rural communities.
However, it has now emerged
‘People love those quirky buildings’
49 of these properties have been abandoned for almost a decade.
The figures emerged in a response from Office of Public Works (OPW) Minister Patrick O’Donovan to a parliamentary question from Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy.
Deputy Murphy had queried the location and size of the properties in the OPW estate that had been vacant or unoccupied up until last month.
In his response, Mr O’Donovan confirmed there are currently 78 vacant OPW buildings, the majority (49) of which are former Garda stations.
The minister confirmed the OPW sold off 36 Garda stations in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
However, he said the Government halted the sale of other buildings from 2016 to
2018 as a result of two Garda reviews, the first of which identified six stations to reopen on a pilot basis, including the controversial refurbishment of Stepaside Garda Station in Co. Dublin.
The second review, carried out by the Garda Inspectorate, was published in December 2018 and did not recommend the reopening of any other former Garda stations.
In response, Ms Murphy urged the Government to put abandoned OPW buildings ‘to use’ in local communities.
She told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘If the stations are not going to be put to use, they should be put to some benefit. They could surely be used for housing – people love those quirky things like schoolhouses and old Garda barracks.
‘The sale of these stations could play a key role in tackling rural dereliction. It is past time a use is found for these signature buildings.’
Mr O’Donovan confirmed the OPW plans to sell off 28 of the 49 remaining former stations as part of An Garda Síochána’s rationalisation programme within the next two years.
It also plans to transfer three former barracks to local authorities and lease a further three buildings for ‘community use’. There are also plans to lease five former Garda stations to community groups.
However, despite the minister saying 28 of the former Garda stations will be sold off, auctions for only four of these have been planned for this year, with a further three scheduled for 2022.
The stations in the for-sale list include high-profile locations such as Dalkey, and Kill Of The Grange, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin and Doonbeg, Co. Clare.
The OPW is also planning to dispose of a Garda station in the Co. Kerry village of Kilgarvan, the home base of the powerful Healy-Rae dynasty.
Other stations for sale include the Newbliss barracks in Co. Monaghan and the Garda building in the village of Goleen in West Cork.
The OPW secured €1,423,000 from the sale of nine Garda stations in 2020. A further sale in 2021 netted a humbler €20,000.
The OPW has long-term empty buildings in five prime Dublin city-centre locations and seven cottages at the seaside village of Crosshaven, Co. Cork.