I want to make a number of matters clear. I realise the time of the House is precious and some sophisticates might suggest that this is not the type of assembly in which to raise the state of the Garda stations in Dún Laoghaire. Nevertheless, I believe the welfare of the gardaí in Dún Laoghaire is very important and I do not apologise to the House for raising the conditions of some of the Garda stations in the Dún Laoghaire district here this evening.
Saturday week last after my constituency clinic I took a tour of a number of Garda stations in the company of a number of Garda officers who, quite legitimately, lobbied me and other Deputies in the constituency for recognition of their plight, the conditions under which they have to work and the difficulties under which their subordinates, the ordinary gardaí, have to work every day. I visited three Garda stations, and I have a knowledge of the other Garda stations in the constituency having represented the area for a long time and having a very close association with the Garda Síochána in the district. I visited Kill-o'-the Grange Garda station, Cabinteely Garda station and Shankill Garda station. I know the Blackrock Garda station very well because it is almost at the back of my garden wall and I have a close association with the gardaí there.
The gardaí in the Dún Laoghaire area are performing their task admirably and very well but they should be supported by the provision of proper Garda stations. It is not my intention to be negative about the problem but rather to bring to the attention of the House the conditions under which these gardaí work. Having outlined those conditions, may I call on the Government to do something about the problem as a matter of urgency? Today the Leader of the Opposition, Deputy Haughey, and Deputy Gregory raised the question of security in the city of Dublin in the context of certain explosions in the city on Saturday last. My raising this issue can also be seen in the context of the security of the community. Given the appalling conditions of the Garda stations which I am about to outline, the House will appreciate that we can be grateful to the gardaí for doing their jobs when we take into account the conditions under which they operate. I am not given to exaggeration ordinarily and my description of one of the garda stations in particular will leave one breathless. I am sure the four Coalition Deputies in the constituency will join with me in inviting the Minister to visit all or even one of the Garda stations I am about to deal with. I would be very pleased to welcome her and/or the Minister for Justice.
One reads exposés of working conditions in the media, but I believe the forces of law and security in certain Garda stations in the constituency of Dún Laoghaire are working in sweat factories, more common to Victorian times than the end of the 20th century. I know a site has been proposed for Corbawn Lane, Shankill, for the past 25 years and I propose that a substation be located in the Ballybrack area, or even a full new Garda station taking account of the triangle from Shankill to Cabinteely to Dalkey. This area is empty of a permanent Garda presence by virtue of the lack of a substation or a Garda station proper. I am calling on the Minister to examine my proposal for a sub-Garda station as a minimum for the Ballybrack area. I want to remind the Minister that Corbawn Lane in Shankill has been nominated for a new Garda station for the past 25 years. This is symptomatic of the way successive Governments have treated the plight of the gardaí in terms of accommodation in the Dún Laoghaire area over many years.
The Dublin metropolitan area covers the city and county of Dublin, and Dún Laoghaire covers the south-east division, with headquarters in Dún Laoghaire proper. The F District takes in Dún Laoghaire, Dalkey, Kill-o'-the-Grange and Cabinteely. The W district takes in Blackrock, Dundrum and Stepaside. The N district takes in Bray, Enniskerry and Shankill. What I am suggesting — and this may not be relevant to the Minister of State at the Department of Finance but perhaps she would communicate it to the Minister for Justice — is that there might be one detention centre for each division and one detention centre located in the Dún Laoghaire division rather than having the pathetic custodial and cell conditions which are available in the Garda stations at present.
I will return now to my tour of the constituency. As I said, I understand other Deputies in the constituency were invited to visit these stations. This is not a political issue, but rather a community matter. I want to stress that. The gardaí were very careful to stress the need to invite Deputies of all political parties to visit the Garda stations and examine the conditions under which they work.
Kill-o'-the-Grange Garda station is located at an extremely dangerous part of the public thoroughfare. To get in and out of that station one literally takes one's life in one's hands. This applies particularly to the gardaí who work there every day. Conditions are deplorable. They are the worst I have ever seen. We must recognise that the gardaí are entitled to accommodation which is as good as we can provide, but the conditions in that station are a disgrace to successive Governments and to those responsible for the leadership in the community, namely, Deputies.
We should be ashamed of ourselves that we have let these conditions exist for so many years. They are slum conditions, no more and no less. It is grotesque that the gardaí should be required to work in such conditions. One goes to what can only be described as a front counter to engage in conversation with a garda or if one wishes to make a complaint, but if one looks behind the counter as an ordinary citizen concerned about the gardaí, one would feel very ashamed. The heating conditions are deplorable and one has to go through a back yard to arrive at a cell. Not only are the gardaí entitled to proper conditions but people brought into custody are entitled to decent conditions. One is not guilty until proven guilty so having regard to that principle of law people in custody are entitled to decent conditions. The cell in Kill-o'-the-Grange Garda station is disgusting. There is a mattress on the floor held inches from the ground by a sort of frame. The toilet facilities are foul. The cell, even at this time of the year is unheated and is what one would expect, in atmospheric terms, a cell in Siberia, to be rather than what one would expect in a modern Dublin housing estate. In order to get to the cell people brought into custody have to walk through the kitchen where there will be gardaí eating their meals. As a matter of urgency the Minister should do something about this Garda station which is probably the worst Garda station in Dún Laoghaire if not in the whole Dublin metropolitan area. The conditions in that station are revolting. One hears about the right of the citizen during custody to confidentiality but there is no question of holding a confidential conversation in the conditions in this station.
In Cabinteely Garda station there has been installed what would be wonderfully effective modern equipment but it is inoperative. To operate this equipment the gardaí must put out the fire in the corner because this direct heat prevents the machine from operating properly. Central heating has been approved for Cabinteely Garda station since 1976 but it is not yet installed. The interview room is on the road front and there are no bars on the window to prevent people jumping out. Happily the interview room is on the ground floor so there is no question of a person doing himself an injury by jumping out of the window, but the prospect is there. There is no ladies toilet facility in the Cabinteely Garda station. I understand that there has been an embargo on the purchase of lockers, desks, chairs and such furniture. My information is that there are many pieces of furniture available within the Department of Finance which they will not release for a reason better known to themselves than to the Garda. The shower does not work, water flows out into the yard, there are no stationery storage facilities and in the detective unit room the exhibits are strewn over the floor because there is no place to store or stack them. There has not been a clerk permanently appointed to Cabinteely since April 1979. There are over 30 gardaí at that station as is the case also at Kill-o'-the-Grange.
