Bertie Ahern
Ceist:278 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Minister for Justice her views on the new regional command centre of the Garda being located in Kilkenny as opposed to Waterford as the regional capital. [5988/96]
Written Answers. - Garda Regional Command Centre.
The concept behind the new regional command structure was to provide an operational span of control which was wider than the Garda division, yet more focused than the centralised method of controlling cross-divisional operational matters from Garda headquarters in Dublin. The new regional structure is based upon co-ordinating the activities within a group of adjoining divisions. No changes have been made to existing Garda district or divisional headquarters as a result of the new regional structure.
The main factor which the Garda authorities took into account in choosing the headquarters for each region, given that the thrust behind the initiative was to co-ordinate the activities of a number of divisions, was that it be centrally located within the region. The decision for the location was one taken by the Garda authorities.
The Garda authorities considered Kilkenny to be the appropriate location because it is more centrally located within the south-eastern region. This region includes the counties of Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford as well as a large part of County Wicklow. Waterford will, of course, continue to be the location of the divisional headquarters of the Waterford/Kilkenny division.