220-acre Tipperary site won't be developed for Garda training college
The site was bought in 2006 for €5.5 million
The fate of a 220-acre site at Clonmore, purchased by the Government in 2006 for the purposes of the expansion of the Garda Training College, remain in limbo as the Minister for Justice has confirmed to local TD that there are no plans to develop the land for its original intended purpose, to expand the garda training college in Templemore.
The land was purchased for €5.5 million by the Office of Public Works, and in the intervening years has been leased to local farmers, and for a time used for tactical training purposes and off road driving.
Deputy Alan Kelly, who has long pursued the matter, said he found the news “disappointing”.
‘It’s very disappointing that the Government has confirmed to me, through Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, that it has no plans to develop lands that were bought in Dromard, Clonmore for the Garda College at a cost of €5.5 million over two decades ago”.
“These lands were bought with a view to expanding the college and be used for Garda driver training, firearms training and continuous development of Gardai as well as other training activities. Given that we know how much we need to expand the college to meet recruitment and the continuous development of Garda training in modern times, I think this decision is worrying and shows a lack of long term planning”.
The recommendations of a Garda Training Review Group, that is looking at the future of Garda training and in particular the Garda College, are due to be made to the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan at the end of the summer.
Deputy Kelly noted that the group h
“This review has the potential to be seismic for the Garda College and Templemore and surrounds who are so dependent on it” said Deputy Kelly.
“I’ll be watching this report closely to see if this Government intends to take any current training away from the college. The commitment in the Programme for Government to look at all this has been hovering over Templemore since the beginning of this Government, so I’ll be pushing that the Government doesn’t take anything away from the college that’s already there currently”.