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The Green Party has pledged to
prioritise the refurbishment and upgrading of Garda Stations around
the country if elected to Government, following claims by the Garda
Representative Association (GRA) that conditions in some Garda
stations are 'deplorable'.
Green Party Justice spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD said: "I
have been raising this issue with Michael McDowell for five years
now, and I have seen few indications of progress during this time.
"In February 2006 I asked the Minister for an update on the
refurbishment of the most dilapidated stations around the country
and was told that the Office of Public Works was to spend €112
million in the period 2005 to the end of 2007 on a wide range of
Garda projects including a major refurbishment of Finglas Garda
Station. We are almost midway through 2007 and the Garda
Representative Association is still saying that Finglas remains one
of the worst stations in the country. Clearly, the Government has
not honoured its commitments.
"Rank and file members of An Garda Síochána should expect to go to
work in fully equipped stations and to have state of the art
equipment to hand. The Green Party is fully committed to ensuring
that this becomes a reality if in government in June." |
