Why is Dept of Justice treating people of Tipp with such disrespect?
Labour Party TD for Tipperary Alan Kelly has accused ministers in the Department of Justice of treating people of Tipperary and their Gardaí with disrespect.
Deputy Kelly said:
“Following the decision of the Garda Commissioner to relocate the Tipperary Garda Divisional Headquarters to Ennis, I put Dáil questions down for the Minister for Justice to answer directly on the relocation.
“The Minister failed to show up to answer my questions, instead he sent a Minister from a completely different Department, with no intricate knowledge of policing matters in Tipperary.
“Instead, the Junior Minister for Justice, David Stanton, chose to wait outside the Dáil chamber waiting to speak on another piece of Justice legislation, the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Bill, which was starting directly after my questioning, rather than come into the Dáil chamber to hear the concerns of the people of Tipperary directly.
“This is completely outrageous behaviour and completely disrespectful to those who want to raise legitimate concerns.
“The new Garda Divisional HQ make completely no sense for a large county like Tipperary. For context, the most southern town in the county, Carrick-on-Suir, is now located 142km away from Tipperary’s new divisional HQ, which is located in Ennis. This relocation causes problems for people in towns across Tipperary and makes no logistical sense.
“When will the Ministers in the Department of Justice face the real concerns of the people of Tipperary, rather than hide from legitimate questions?”