The long arm of the law reaches up the Mulgannon Road.

In the end it only took about 7 minutes to march from Roches Rd to Mulgannon Rd. Like all good thrillers, there was a twist and turn in this one.  Wexford’s garda station has officially moved ending a controversy that has run for well over a decade. Like all good investigations there was many a false lead. In the end the right decision was made and now our police service can look forward to state of the art facilities from which to deliver services for generations to come.

It could have been very different. Michael McDowell and Fianna Fail wanted the new garda station somewhere out the Rosslare Road. They were not too interested in engaging with the local councillors or gardaí themselves as to where they might be based.  The thinking at the time was that brownfield sites like the former Nunns Granary would be apartment blocks in the Celtic Tiger era.

Then along came the collapse in building, the change in government and the realisation that the building industry could only survive if the state invested in social infrastructure.  Today we’re seeing the benefit in Wexford of the logic that dominated the early part of this decade. A year ago there were 3 cranes dominating the skyline in Wexford where the schools, the new court house and the garda station were under construction. But what Wexford got was not a new garda station but a new divisional head quarters.  There’s a difference I’ll come back to later.

So it is both a time to reflect on the past services that the Gardaí delivered in the past but it’s also a time to look forward to how policing into this century will be carried out.  The demands of society are very different to the day when the art deco drawings of the old station at Roches Road were on the architect’s desk.  There’s over 7 acres of land at Mulgannon Garda station. Much of it may at a later stage see further building.  The facilities are of the order that past members of the force could only dream of.

So it leads me to think that as society continues to change is it the future that policing will be delivered from major stations like the new divisional Head Quarters.  A divisional HQ will deliver much more than just a garda station.  There is a massive shed at the back of the garda station. You can drive a huge artic in there, shut the doors and strip it down. There is a high spec ventilation system to draw away engine fumes. The view from the conference room at the top of the building looks out over the town towards the harbour. Above that is the locker room while each sergeant and inspector will have their own office elsewhere in the block. 

Prisoners have an exercise yard and an en suite toilet in their cells.  Prison or court escorts will no longer be through the main door but from a secure holding area to the rear. So the working conditions are far superior to what went before.

Let’s be honest about this. If you were a garda in a rural station in Wexford District and you saw your colleagues getting a brand new station, you’d be keen to work there too. Which makes me wonder is the day of the rural garda station gone?

Up north the PSNI which is regarded as the model police force aim to provide services from just 40 police stations.  I know Fermanagh very well. Its population is just half of Wexford’s. They have just 2 police stations open 24 hours. If you want to meet a police officer you have to make an appointment. Policing is about delivering a service to the people it serves.  The idea that you can have stations in every small village is not compatible with these aspirations and the demands on the service nowadays.

So what happens in the future if more rural garda stations are proposed for closure in Wexford? That question may take more than 7 minutes to resolve.