LAST UPDATE | 4 Nov 2022
TIPPERARY LOCALS ARE set to protest outside the gates of the Garda college in Templemore this weekend after authorities stopped the community from using the college’s swimming pool.
Demonstrators say the move is the latest incident in a series of issues experienced by the local community in the town following decisions by management at the centre.
According to locals, including Fianna Fáil TD Jackie Cahill, the pool has been used by those in the area for 40 years.
Cahill said that anger in the community against the Garda authorities has peaked after local businesses have been impacted following decisions to remove long-term agreements for them to provide services to the college.
Until recently, the pool inside the Garda college was used by members of the public to learn to swim during times when Garda recruits were not using the facility.
The pool was used by local schools and other classes for children and adults in swimming and life-saving – but in recent months the State closed off the pool to the public.
An individual is understood to have applied to the Garda college for a licence to use the pool for group training, but this was rejected.
Garda management operate the college however the OPW is the property owner.
In statements the OPW said the day-to-day operation of the facility is a matter for the garda organisation – gardaí have said the pool was closed during the pandemic and has remained closed due to energy cost concerns.
This morning the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said that it was a decision taken by local garda management and would be revisited in the new year.
‘Anti-community’
This Saturday afternoon, locals will march on the college and hold a protest outside the gates to protest against the decision.
Local woman Deirdre Ryan, of the We Just Want to Swim campaign, is one of those organising the demonstration.
She told The Journal that banning people from using the facility after 40 years has irrevocably damaged the relationship between Templemore residents and the Garda college.
“It makes no sense, especially the fact that it was the same service for four decades,” she said.
“They told us that it was because the college wanted to use it, and then they changed the excuse that it was to save on energy costs.
“The service is so important – the children were getting lessons in life-saving skills. The college taught me how to swim; it taught thousands of people in Templemore.”
Ryan said that previously there was a positive relationship between the community and the Garda college, but that the history of both existing side-by-side had now gone.
She also claimed the move has meant a local Special Olympics group will now not be able to train their athletes at the facility.
“People are so upset by it. They’ve pulled back on services to buy food and products from local people, then they stopped access to the playing pitches,” she added.
“It has left a bitter taste – they’ve just disregarded a relationship with the community that was so strong.”
‘Bad feeling’
Fianna Fáil’s Jackie Cahill said that he has been lobbying to have the decision reversed, and warned that the dispute has badly damaged community relationships in the area.
“There is awful bad feeling in the locality. The people of Templemore have always had a great relationship [with the Garda college],” he said.
He explained that households in Templemore historically accommodated new Garda recruits in their own homes when numbers entering the training college were bigger.
“There was seriously good will towards the depot at the time – the locals won’t do that again.
“At the moment there are no recruits in college – the pool is lying idle. The OPW needs to get a hold of this and there needs to be an arrangement,” he said.
It also comes after the contracts for some businesses to supply goods to the college were not renewed in recent years, which Cahill also claimed was impacting the local community.
“There was always a local provision but they have decided, the civil servants, to centralise the ordering of services,” he said.
“That should not be happening – there’s a lack of engagement with the local community.”
Local Fianna Fáil councillor Seamus Hanafin similarly criticised the move to close the pool to locals.
“At Tipperary County Council, we recently recognised a former Garda for his contribution to the locality – giving swimming lessons for generations,” he said.
“It is appalling now to see that the public are excluded from a long time access to the training college.”
Governance measures
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said that the move was made because the pool was not being used by gardaí.
“It was a decision I understand taken by the gardaí in Templemore themselves simply on the fact that it wasn’t being used by the gardaí themselves. So, you know, we’re all trying to save energy.
“We’re all trying to be as efficient as we can to simply have the pool open for one day when it wasn’t being used on the other days.
“A decision was taken for that reason to close but my understanding is that they’re very much of the view that this is something that can be revisited come the New Year, we have a new round of recruits going into Templemore actually this month will have significant numbers then again in January,” she said.
The Minister said that she anticipates that the decision to stop or allow the public to use the pool will be taken again in January.
“I have no doubt that this will be revisited. But it’s it’s certainly, from my understanding not about shutting the community out, this was simply, the pool was only going to be used one day a week,” she added.
In a statement a Garda spokesperson said that the Garda college pool was first closed in March 2020 in line with public health restrictions, and has remained closed since, with the exception of a temporary re-opening between March and June 2022.
“Any decision to re-open the pool will primarily take into consideration demand by An Garda Síochána for training within the Garda College and the wider current energy cost implications,” the spokesperson said.
The statement also said that, in 2017, “governance measures” were introduced which meant that the Office of Public Works [OPW] was responsible for granting licences to any group external to the Garda college that wished to use the pool.
“Whilst Garda management are consulted, licences are issued by the OPW for the benefit of the local community on a not-for-profit or commercial basis,” it added.
Office of Public Works
Asked to respond to this, a spokesperson for the OPW said the pool is operated by Garda management and that while its facilities are for Garda trainees, they can be made available to local communities.
They also confirmed that the OPW has granted licences to schools and community groups to access the pool, but said this was done through an application process which is managed by the Garda college.
“If deemed appropriate, the college request the OPW to grant a licence to the Group for the use of the pool facilities on a not-for-profit basis,” a statement read.
The OPW said that it neither received an application for a swimming licence from any individual and also did not issue a refusal to any application.
“While the OPW is consulted as the property owner, the decisions around the day-to-day operation of, and access to, facilities at the college are a matter for the Garda authorities who must take account of issues relating to the efficient use of the property and related administration/running costs.
“The OPW has no difficulty in supporting a licensing process, but this must take account of the above and the views of the Garda authorities as occupiers of the Garda college complex,” it added.
In a separate statement this morning a garda spokesperson spoke about food and other supply contracts and their removal from local suppliers.
“A tender has been issued for provision of products to the restaurant and shop at the Garda College.
“As a public body An Garda Síochána is required to comply with public procurement practices and any contract will be decided by this public, competitive tender process,” the statement read.
Additional reporting from Christina Finn.
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