A new Garda station on O’Connell Street in Dublin centre city was officially opened on Friday morning.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the street had gained a “bad reputation” but that the opening of the station, located three doors down from the Savoy cinema, was “a positive step in helping to bring this street back to its hey day”.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the new station was just one of a number of measures An Garda Síochána was taking to “reassure those who live and work and visit in and around this main street in our capital city, we are here as your local gardaí to keep you safe”.
It is hoped the Garda station will enhance visibility and improve public safety in the O’Connell Street area.
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The station will provide a central base for the organisation to continue its close work with local stakeholders, including the North East Inner City and the local community safety partnership, according to An Garda Síochána.
It will also host a permanent office for the Irish Tourism Assistance Service , “enhancing a complete policing and ancillary victim service for tourists who are victims of crime”.
Mr Varadkar said the Garda station would remain open until 2am and that opening hours were a matter for the commissioner.
He said O’Connell Street would “look very different and very much improved for the better” with the opening of the station, along with the re-opening of Clerys and the planned renovation of the Abbey Theatre and redevelopment of the Carlton Cinema site.
Mr Varadkar said the Government needed to resource An Garda Síochána to crack down on crime and also open-street drug-dealing.
“It’s really important that our communities feel safe, and often the perception or feeling safe is as important as anything else,” he said.
The Fine Gael leader also said the maximum entry age of 35 years to the force and the retirement age were under review.
“I’m very much of the view that what matters is not somebody’s numerical age, it’s their mental and physical fitness,” he said.
The Taoiseach said planned industrial action by gardaí in relation to rostering issues was “a very important issue that needs to be resolved” and that the best place to sort it out was the Workplace Relations Commission .
“We need rosters that work for the public so that gardaí are available when we need them to be available but you also need rosters that work for gardaí that respect family life, work-life balance,” he said.
The commissioner said illegal drugs, those who supply them and related anti-social behaviour remain “a really critical issue” that requires and gets “constant focus”.
“The impact of this on any area cannot be underestimated,” he said. “The city centre has not been immune from feeling these effects.”
Minister for Justice Simon Harris said the opening of the station was a statement for the public that they could feel safe on the “main thoroughfare of our capital city”.
Mr Harris added that attacks on gardaí would never be tolerated and the Government would respond to “what have been truly sickening incidents to witness for most in society”.
“It won’t be tolerated, it will never be tolerated. We’ll stand with the gardaí, we’ll support them and we’ll change the law to make sure that they know that,” he said.
