Gardaí in walk out
PAUL DEERING REPORTS ON A CRISIS THAT SEES SLIGO GARDA STATION CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC FOR THE FORSEEABLE FUTURE AS GARDAÍ WALKOUT
GARDAÍ have walked out of Sligo Garda Station vowing never to return until serious health and safety issues have been addressed by management. On Monday morning 101 Gardaí left the station and are now operating from a house around the corner on Chapel Street. Deputy Marc MacSharry said conditions are so dire that there is not even drinking water available in the station. “The cells cannot be used, so when people are arrested they have to be driven 15 miles away to Ballymote. The building is simply not fit for purpose. I have raised the conditions with successive Ministers but all have turned a blind eye. In August this year, Minister of State Kevin Boxer Moran promised that a site for a new station would be identified within “three or four weeks”. The issue appears to have fallen off the Government agenda again.” He has called on the Minister for Justice to immediately allocate the necessary resources for remedial works.
GARDAÍ say they won’t return to Sligo Garda Station until it meets health and safety requirements.
Long threatened action came to pass on Monday morning when Garda reporting for duty at 7am refused to work in the station.
And, they will stay out says local GRA representative, Ray Wims until their concerns, outlined in two engineering reports, are addressed.
Gardaí will continue to report for duty and are now operating out of what is basically a house on Chapel Street, which up to now was used for training.
The AGSI may well follow suit and also decline to work at the station
Talks have stalled with Garda management and it’s unlikely the issues will be resolved in the short term.
The GRA said the building on Pearse Road is overcrowded and dangerous, and not fit for purpose. A new station has been promised but no contract has been signed yet.
Garda Wims, said: “We cannot re-enter the station until the serious health and safety issues and the issues with fire regulation have been addressed.”
Garda Wims said there was possibly too much focus on the age of the original building which dated from the 1840s.
“There’s a building just as old across the road, the courthouse and that is fulfilling its function having undergone a major refurbishment some years ago,” he said.
A planned walkout last year was deferred because of commitments made by garda management to address the problems. It is understood Gardaí wanted the offices of the Chief Superintendent and Assistant Garda Commissioner to moved out to rented premises in the town which would free up some 30% of the overall space at the station. A building at Finisklin was said to have been lined up.
It was thought agreement was in place for this move to go ahead but in recent days management revealed they wouldn’t be going along with the plan.
It now leaves a short term solution a long way off but the GRA say they are happy enough with the current interim arrangements that sees Gardaí operating out of a house at Chapel Street.
However, it is far from an ideal situ- ation. Since 2016 cells are no longer in use at the Garda Station and a male toilet has been out of order for 17 months.
All arrested persons have to be brought to Ballymote Garda Station for detention. This is leading to other fears when prisoners are being released onto the streets of the South Sligo town in the early hours with no mode of transport back to Sligo. Local solicitors have already expressed their concern at the situation to Superintendent Mary Murray.
In a statement, Garda management said: “An Garda Síochána has been endeavouring to resolve the matters raised in relation to Sligo station. These efforts will continue. If required, An Garda Síochána will put in place a contingency plan and this will be communicated to the people of Sligo.”
On Sunday, Michael Reilly of Michael Reilly and Associates, an engineering company based in Tipperary, carried out an inspection of the building on Pearse Road. The report states that conditions at the station had deteriorated since an initial inspection in May of last year.
In this second report, Mr Reilly said that “the initial situation with regard to inadequate locker room facilities and third world hygiene facilities within the complex remains unchanged”.
He said the rodent problem within the station has intensified with bait boxes throughout the building and toilets, which were closed during his last inspection, are still closed.
Concerns were also expressed about fire escape routes and corridors being blocked and hazardous material being stored inadequately
Mr Reilly added: “Both reports highlight a myriad of potentially serious hazards, any one of which could have a serious life changing effect on the health and welfare of any of the members who are forced to work under these ferocious conditions.” The drastic action taken by Sligo Gardaí has been backed by the local business community.
Spokesperson for Sligo BID, Finbarr Filan said the local business community had a very good working relationship with the Gardaí and learned with disappointment about the action which they had to take.
“Through our organisation’s work with the Purple Flag we have had occasion to visit the Garda Station in Sligo on a number of occasions and we are aware of the antiquated conditions in which Gardaí have to work there.
“We have also through our BID network been in a position to visit other, more modern stations around the country in towns and cities similar in size to Sligo. The situation pertaining in Sligo needs addressing as a matter of urgency. A city the size of Sligo with a population of 30,000 needs a fully functioning and modern police station and not one which is now basically operating from the front room of a house.
“We hope that funding is provided as soon as possible to allow refurbishment works to begin and a return of Gardaí to the station. It will be at least three years before a new station is provided and it’s crucial that in the meantime remedial work is carried out as soon as possible.
“We feel this is an example of how Sligo has been neglected by successive governments over the past 30 years.”