Garda and Army buildings to proceed in Portlaoise

Sean Fleming TD, Minister of State at the Department of Finance has said that the project for the new Garda Siochana Divisional Headquarters and Army building in Portlaoise is to proceed.

·         The new Garda Siochana Divisional Headquarters and Army building is expected to go to tender in quarter one 2022.

·         The project involves restoration of the existing building plus a major extension

·         This Laois, Offaly and Kildare Garda Division has the highest population of any division in the country, 500,000 people

·         The size of the new station will be 4,000 Sq. metres

·         It is hoped the contractor can be appointed in the summer and works to commence in the second half of the year and is expected to be a two-year contract

·         This new building will be on the site of the current Garda Station and the adjoining Department of Defence property

·         The building will be suitable for an increased number of Gardaí and will include a 6 cell unit, facilities for the Traffic Corp, Emergency Response Unit an evidence collection store

·         The Army agreed earlier this year to relocate the facility for the soldiers from their existing location to an Irish Prison Service site beside the training centre, adjacent to the Midlands Prison

·         Planning application for this new facility was lodged earlier this year and is expected to be approved in the coming weeks

·         The planning application was submitted under Part 9 of the 1993 Legislation which allows the Office of Public Works to apply for and grant permission in very limited exceptional circumstance in relation to the security of the State in situations like this. 

·         This new facility will be of a similar scale to the current facility and it will have the normal disability access and be designed as a near zero carbon building

·         Construction of both projects will proceed simultaneously