Delight as work begins on Stepaside Garda Station

LOCALS and business people have welcomed the fact that work has begun on Stepaside Garda Station.

The revamped station will be open to serve the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the middle of next year.

Some 139 Garda stations were closed between 2012 and 2013.

But the station at Stepaside is one of six in Ireland due to reopen as part of a commitment contained in the Programme for a Partnership Government.

The closure of the Garda station five years ago was greeted with widescale opposition from the local community and caused controversy when Transport Minister and local TD Shane Ross campaigned to bring the Southside station back into use.

The minister’s efforts prompted Opposition accusations of “stroke politics” when its reopening was announced along with five other stations.

The Garda station is expected to be "fully operational" by the end of next June after gardaí and the Office of Public Works (OPW) decided that the existing building could be refurbished rather than constructing a purpose-built station on the site.

In a statement to the Dáil’s public accounts committee, the OPW chair Maurice Buckley said on October 3 that Garda officials had confirmed they have agreed to “refurbish” the controversial South Dublin station.

Citing the decision as “the most effective way from both a cost and time perspective”, he said the Garda estates office said as a result “it would be expected Stepaside Garda Station will be fully completed and operational by June 2019”.

The briefing document does not set out how much will be spent on the refurbishment, although the cost of a purpose-built station was previously put at around €1m by Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan.

According to Minister Shane Ross, Stepaside Garda Station will be a fully-operational working station, open to serve the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“I am delighted that the OPW has confirmed the good news that the original Stepaside station will re-open,” Minister Ross said. “This is a massive success for the local community.

“It had been thought that a purpose-built station would need to be built on the site of the station, however, the building has recently been vacated, allowing OPW staff full access. 

“This greater access has allowed them to inspect the site more fully.

"While we had reservations about a purpose-built station on the grounds of our station, our number one priority has been to see a full Garda presence again stationed in the heart of Stepaside village.

“Cllr Kevin Daly and I sought the views of community leaders and residents alike in recent months.

“All were agreed that the station returning to the village is of paramount importance.

“We can confirm that the OPW have now agreed with our first preference, that of the local community and the Stepaside Business Association that the gardaí can be returned to the original station."

Cllr Daly added: "Reopening the original building was always more preferable for us all but the OPW had believed it would cause years of delay.

“Thankfully they have now confirmed that is not the case. They now anticipate having the original station reopened by mid-2019.

“As confirmed previously, when the station reopens, it will be open seven days a week.

“This is a wonderful result for the local community who never gave up on getting their much-needed station opened again.”

The local business association said residents and business people across the Stepaside area were delighted to see that work had already begun on the refurbishment of the original Garda station.

“The association and residents wish to thank the OPW, Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and our local public representatives,” they said in a statement.