Some 75 gardaí and civilians working at Finglas Garda station, Dublin, are planning to walk out of the station on March 1st and will refuse to return until a firm commitment is given to replace the building with a modern facility. Conor Lally reports.
Members of the Garda Representative Association and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) based in Finglas have been liaising recently with a view to impressing senior Garda management that a new station is needed.
The officers will not withdraw their services from Finglas during the protest. Instead, they will report for work at Cabra Garda station. They will work from the Cabra base until alternative accommodation is identified in Finglas.
The Finglas station was formerly a private bungalow, which was extended after it became a Garda station. Gardaí have complained for many years that it is dilapidated and is not big enough.
The AGSI's Mr Austin Kenny said: "The staff associations have been fighting for a new station for Finglas for at least 20 years and have been fobbed off with one excuse after another down those years."
Around 15 murder investigations had been conducted from Finglas in the last five years. Despite this, none of the rooms at the station was large enough to act as a conference room. The AGSI said it was hopeful concrete plans for a new station could be put forward before the planned protest on March 1st.
If the officers stage the walk out, it would be the first time in the history of the force that such a protest had taken place. Gardaí in Donegal and Cork had threatened to walk out of stations in the past, but had cancelled their plans after proposals were agreed for new stations.