Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for coming to the Chamber and taking this important Commencement matter. When I speak about Clonmel Garda station, I must first recognise that the Minister is responsible for two Departments. Kickham Barracks plays a key role in both Departments.

Before I outline my frustration with the Department of Justice and the Government regarding Clonmel Garda station, since I have not had an opportunity to do so in a public forum such as this, I acknowledge and thank the Minister for his support, and that of the Department of Higher and Further Education, Research, Innovation and Science, in financing and picking Kickham Barracks as one of ten sites throughout the country that will amalgamate the Technological University of the Shannon and further education ETBs as dual campuses. This will be something that will be an example to the country of how to do things in respect of further education in future. The €35 million being invested in Clonmel town centre is highly significant.

On top of that, as the Minister will know because he visited it - people thought he was there to open the plaza but it was the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage who did so last week - there was a €10 million investment in Kickham Barracks in order to open it to the public. That opening was last week. The problem is all this positive news has again shone a light on a real elephant-in-the-room problem with Clonmel Garda station. The Minister is the fifth or sixth Minister for Justice from my party who has held that position during our period in Government since 2011. Almost every Minister has visited the Garda station, has met its superintendent, Willie Leahy, and all the gardaí who work there, and understands the conditions they are working in are not acceptable. They all accept we need to build a new Garda station. The problem is it is lumped in with Macroom Garda station and the Children Court. As the Minister will know, the problem with that is the Children Court is way behind Clonmel and Macroom Garda stations.

We are ready to go and ready to build the Garda station.The chief executive of Tipperary County Council said the exact same thing last week to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. We are ready to go and ready to build. It is not acceptable that we have been waiting years, with Minister after Minister taking office, for this Garda station to be built. I have spoken to the Minister, Deputy Harris, previous Ministers and the Taoiseach about this issue. It is a critical issue for the people of Clonmel. The most frustrating aspect is that this delay is happening when investment is taking place in Clonmel, including in the Kickham Barracks site and, we hope, in the town centre in the next couple of months under the new round of urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, allocations. The redevelopment of Clonmel's whole town centre will be included in the applications under that scheme. It is not fair on the people who work day and night in the Garda station that they do not have the facilities they deserve. It is also not fair on the community. Like every other area, we have problems with antisocial behaviour, intimidation and violence against farmers and communities. If gardaí are to do their job properly, they need a station that is fit for purpose. The facility that is there at the moment does not meet that standard.

I am asking the Minister for the same thing I asked of the Taoiseach and previous Ministers. I probably was too light on this topic in the beginning, accepting something would be done in the end. I am at the stage now where I know the station will not be built if it stays in the project bundle with the family court facility in Dublin. It will not be built any time soon or within any acceptable timeframe. I ask the Minister to see whether it is possible to take Clonmel Garda station out of the combined project bundle that includes Macroom Garda station and the children's court facility and, instead, to ensure it is built as a single project. That is what the people in Clonmel and Tipperary deserve. It most certainly is what the gardaí and staff who work in the Clonmel district deserve.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Ahearn for raising this matter and for taking me to Kickham Barracks in Clonmel on a number of occasions to see the significant progress being made on the site, which in no small part is thanks to his work and advocacy. It was brilliant to see the plaza site and superb to be able to say that Kickham Barracks will be home to a new third level campus. It is one of the first campuses in the country that will incorporate further and higher education. While I am taking this matter as Minister for Justice, I am delighted, as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, to see the synergies that are now being created by way of the old barracks site.

As Senator Ahearn showed me during our most recent visit, the site will also be home to a state-of-the-art Garda station. It is a station that needs to be delivered. The people of Clonmel want to see it delivered quickly and the gardaí in the area need it. The Senator has continually advocated for its delivery and has, rightly, put pressure on us to see whether there are ways by which it could be delivered more quickly than currently envisaged. The Senator is committed, as am I, to the development of the two Garda stations he referenced, particularly the one in Clonmel. I hope he will take encouragement from the Taoiseach's convening of a meeting recently with me, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, OPW, and others to see how best we can progress this project in a satisfactory timeframe and whether it is possible to progress it more quickly. I am not in a position today to go further than to say these discussions are continuing between our teams and officials. I hope the Senator and the people of Clonmel will take encouragement from the impetus the Taoiseach has put into this issue being examined and explored to see whether there is a quicker way of progressing. I give my assurance that I will keep him and the House directly updated as soon as it is possible and appropriate to do so, which will be when those discussions bottom out.

The Garda building and refurbishment programme is based on agreed Garda priorities. It benefits more than 30 locations around the country and is underpinned by significant Exchequer funding across both the Garda and OPW Votes. The programme includes the major public private partnership, PPP, project the Senator referenced. The goal of this investment is to address deficiencies in the Garda estate and provide fit-for-purpose facilities for Garda members and staff and for the public interacting with them. The Senator is correct that both the Cork county divisional headquarters in Macroom and the new Garda station in Clonmel have been identified as priorities and are currently part of a Department of Justice PPP along with the family law court facility in Hammond Lane, Dublin 7. Planning permission for the new Garda stations was granted in early 2021.

In regard to the PPP more broadly, formal project structures have been established, including a project board and project team. We will continue to engage closely with the Taoiseach's team and with my colleagues, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, specifically in regard to Clonmel and Macroom and the needs of people in Clonmel in respect of the issues the Senator raised. When it is appropriate to do so and when those discussions have bottomed out, I will be happy to update the Senator. I want him to know that the Government, including the Taoiseach, and I are very committed to seeing this Garda station delivered as quickly as possible. We will explore the best ways to go about this and we will finalise the discussions as quickly as we can.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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I appreciate the response and I accept wholeheartedly the Minister's genuine will to get this done. When the new Government was formed in December, the Taoiseach appointed Deputy Donohoe to a new role in public expenditure and delivery on national development plan projects. This is a clear recognition that while we are announcing things and putting money towards things, for some reason some projects are simply not being delivered. Clonmel Garda station is a prime example of this and is a project we announced eight years ago. We have had five Ministers in the meantime and nothing has been done on the grounds of Kickham Barracks to actually build a Garda station. It is telling that there are now discussions going on between the Minister, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform as to how we can get this project moving. The discussions have to be quick. People cannot wait any longer on promises of a station being built. We need to find out whether it would be worth it, cost-wise, to take it out of that project and do it regardless. I acknowledge that cost obviously is important but regardless of that, the project simply has to be done. How long more are we going to leave the people of Clonmel and Tipperary without a functioning Garda station? I ask that the decision be made quickly and I am happy to work with the Minister.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I understand the Senator's frustration on behalf of his constituents and the people of Clonmel. There has been some progress made. Planning permission has been in place since 2021 to build a Garda station in Clonmel. When this Government was formed and our party came to office this was identified as a priority. It has been on the list of projects that will be funded. This planning permission has been sought and secured and now the Taoiseach is working with me, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, to see how quickly these projects can be delivered. As Minister for Justice, my most important priority every single day is keeping the people of this country, including the men and women of An Garda Síochána, safe. To do so, we need to invest in recruiting more people and we need to invest in facilities, stations, vehicles and equipment. There is a clear need in Clonmel to bring forward this investment. There will be nobody, other than perhaps the Senator and the people of Clonmel, happier than I will be if we can make progress on this project. I am very happy to keep in touch with the Senator on this matter.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Ahearn for raising that important topic for the people of Clonmel and the south Tipperary area in general.