Work on the reopening of Garda station is imminent

Callum Lavery 

RESIDENTS in Rush and surrounding areas can expect the reopening of their local Garda station in the new year. 

The Office of Public Works (OPW) say they anticipate that work on the former station will commence in January 2019. 

Rush Garda Station, along with five others around the country, are expected to reopen next year.

The Rush station was closed in early 2012 as part of Government cutbacks during the recession, and it has have left a major void in the area since.  

Community members and local public represenatives have conducted an intensive campaign to reopen the station which serves a town with a population of over 10,000.

Questions have been raised, though, over whether or not the stations will receive enough staff to run them.

Dublin Fingal TD Darragh O’Brien (FF) criticised the current lack of gardaí on the Northside. 

“The issue is yes, the station, but secondly, is their guards to man the station? We need gardaí in Rush. We need extra guards in North Dublin. “We’ve lost over 20 percent of our guards in the North Dublin area in the past five years. Even when Garda numbers nationwide appear to be going up they are still reducing in North Dublin.”

In September Balbriggan Garda Station assigned a member of its team to serve as a community Garda for the Rush area. Although welcomed by residents, they have still expressed their need for a permanent Garda force in the area.

“We’ve gotten 10 new guards in Balbriggan and one of those has been assigned to Rush as a community guard, and I welcome that, but that’s still 10,000 people to one community guard,” added Deputy O’Brien. 

“Do the people want a Garda station with a full-time Garda presence? 100 percent. Do they need it? Absolutely they do.“

Local resident and a member of Rush Tidy Towns, Madeline Hayden, said crime in the area has become worse without a local police force.

“People know that there is no real deterrent,” Ms Hayden told Northside People. 

“By the time you get a guard down, they (criminals) would have done what they needed to do and have left the area. The station is there, now they just have to get it upgraded and to put the staff in place.”

Rush falls under the Balbriggan Garda District. Many residents feel that this station is too far away from their town to properly serve the citizens’ needs. 

Katie Wellner, a Rush resident and member of the Rush and Lusk Against Crime Facebook group, said the time it takes for Balbriggan gardaí to reach the area is a major concern. 

“When we call the guards they have to come from Balbriggan and it takes at least half an hour for them to get here,” said Ms Wellner. 

“People are trying to watch out for each other if they see suspicious activity but we don’t feel safe.”

The OPW has informed the Department of Justice that the final brief for works required to reopen the former station at Rush has now been agreed and signed-off with An Garda Síochána. Appropriate procurement arrangements for the relevant works are in progress.