Ballinspittle Garda Station re-opening date sought by TD

By Tim Ryan

A DATE for the planned re-opening of Ballinspittle Garda Station was raised in the Dáil by Independent Deputy Michael Collins.

‘On page 101 of the programme for Government, under the heading “Crime Prevention, Justice and Equality”, there is a promise on the part of the Government to launch a pilot scheme to re-open six Garda stations in urban and rural areas,’ he said. ‘One of these Garda stations is in Ballinspittle in West Cork.’

Deputy Collins said that is in a coastal area that has a high number of tourists during the summer. ‘Will the Government also look at re-opening the stations it closed in other coastal locations, namely, Adrigole on the Beara Peninsula and Goleen on the Mizen Peninsula?’

In reply, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said he could inform Deputy Collins that work is ongoing as far as this issue is concerned. ‘There was an exchange of correspondence as recently as last week between the Garda Síochána and the Office of Public Works to accelerate the process. I expect that we will see further positive developments in the area over the coming months.’