AN GARDA SÍOCHÁNA has identified the member of the force who lodged an objection to a Cork planning proposal. 

At the start of the year, Cork City Council sought a public consultation regarding upgrade works to a greenway in the area. A number of options were being examined to address the safety of the section that runs alongside the Rochestown Road in Cork city, including improving the existing route. 

At the end of the consultation, one objection, reported by The Journal yesterday, was submitted under the name ‘An Garda Síochána’ from an official email address and raised concerns about the proposal on behalf of gardaí in Cork. 

There was confusion surrounding who made the objection and why it was submitted as being an official garda objection. However, it emerged today that gardaí have identified the member responsible for the submission.
The garda in question is based at a station over 10km from Cork city.

Officers are now investigating why this sergeant issued the objection, given that it was out of their area of policing.

They are also investigating why the objection appeared to be submitted by An Garda Síochána in an official capacity.

Cork City Council yesterday attempted to clear up what it described as a “misunderstanding” around the submission, after the story was discussed on social media.

“We would like to clarify a misunderstanding that arose on social media today.
As part of a non-statutory public consultation process to help inform early design decisions for phase 2 of the B’rock/Passage Greenway, we received an online submission from a local garda station. Cork City Council staff followed up on the online submission and were promptly given a name by the local garda station to formally accompany the submission,” their statement read. 

However, an official garda statement said that no submission was made on behalf of the force and that the objection, although officially submitted as being from An Garda Síochána, was made in “a personal capacity”. 

Correspondence seen by The Journal shows how the Garda Superintendent with responsibility for community policing in Cork city said he had no idea where the submission came from. 

“An Garda Síochána have no objections to the Greenway upgrades and have had meetings with the council in respect of same. This office has no knowledge of the submission you refer to or as to who may have submitted same,” a statement from the superintendent’s office read. 

Sources have told this publication that this superintendent had no knowledge whatsoever of the objection which was sent from a different station to his own. 

A garda spokesman said today: “An Garda Síochána are carrying out enquiries to establish the facts of this incident.”