The wait continues for Athlone Garda Station to be upgraded; however hope was renewed last week that plans were moving forward after a visit to the station by Minister for State with responsibilities for the Office of Public Works, Simon Harris.
The Minister visited Athlone last week after an invitiation by local TD Gabrielle McFadden was extended. According to the Fine Gael TD the visit by her fellow party member shows his commitment to the upgrade of the station building and its facilities.
“I would like to thank Minister Harris for responding to my invitation to view the existing station and to discuss the pressing need to provide funding to activate the upgrade of the station. This project is on the waiting list for a significant upgrade and existing facilities are clearly in need of modernisation for members of the force and the public.
Deputy McFadden now wishes to meet with the Minister for Justice, Francis Fitzgerald, to discuss the need to have the project pushed up the priority list for further progression at the end of 2015 or early 2016.
“This is a significant capital project where work on the planning and design have already been undertaken by the OPW, based on a brief of accommodation provided by An Garda Síochána. As part of the development, a link building will be constructed between the existing Garda Station and the former Government Offices nearby,” said Deputy McFadden.
The construction work will take up to two years to complete with important jobs being provided during this phase.
