53 State-owned former garda stations closed during recession remain empty
More than 50 State-owned former garda stations shut during the recession are still lying empty in cities, towns and villages despite an urgent need for housing and ongoing calls to increase security in communities across the country.
The Office of Public Works has told TDs the number of empty former garda stations accounts for over half of all vacant properties in State possession and are costing almost half a million euro a year to secure.
In a nine-page document to be published by the Oireachtas finance committee tomorrow morning, OPW officials will say that the State is currently holding 96 properties which are lying empty.
Of these:
- 53 are former garda stations shut under Government policy in 2012-2013
- 12 are other stations shut in other years that fell outside of this policy's remit
- nine are former garda residences which remain unoccupied
- seven are former coast guard buildings
- a further 15 relate to other State services which are no longer in use
While the buildings are scattered across the country, the files seen by the Irish Examiner show 10 of the 65 garda stations and residences are based in Cork, five are in Clare, five more are in Limerick and another four are located in Kerry.
A further two properties are located in Dublin, seven are in Galway and four are in Monaghan.
In a statement to the Dáil's finance committee, the Office of Public Works will tomorrow say the State is spending almost half a million euro every year to ensure the properties have necessary security.
While it will say the lack of progress on re-using the properties is a cause for concern, officials will stress they are taking steps to find alternative ways to use the buildings.
They will say these options include "seeking to find alternative State use" for the properties or potentially selling the properties "on the open market".
If neither option is considered "feasible" it will consider giving the buildings to community projects and groups.
The Government has regularly been put under pressure to re-open garda stations closed during the recession in recent years, with a controversial pilot project choosing six sites to be re-opened two years ago - including the Stepaside station in Transport Minister Shane Ross's south Dublin constituency.
