The curious case of the former Limerick garda station

MAYOR John Moran has said the protracted sale of a disused garda station in the city centre will now not proceed.

Councillors last year used one of their statutory powers to sell the former Mary Street garda station to a developer for €100,000.

It was proposed the former barracks - out of use for a decade -  be turned into a “signature building” for the area employing 30 people in total.

Mayor Moran provided a written answer to Fine Gael councillor Sarah Kiely, who sought an update on the sale of the property at this month's metropolitan meeting.

“The developer no longer wishes to progress with the purchase so the sale will not proceed,” he stated.

He said this will mean a new “optimum use” can be sought for the building.

This, he added, would be “in line with other developments in the area and the mayoral programme objective to improve amenities and public realm across King’s Island.”

Mayor Moran also wrote about how this could encourage the development of new creative hubs and workshops.

The move has sparked anger among councillors, one of whom said there had been the “undermining of a democratic decision.”

After council bought the former Mary Street garda station from the Office of Public Works in 2018, it took until 2022 for the property to come to market.

It was not for another 18 months until the sale was approved by members.

At the metropolitan meeting, Cllr Kiely asked if the purchaser of the property had withdrawn by agreement and was any compensation paid to them.

“Was there engagement to ask them to withdraw? If so, was there any compensation around that,” she asked, claiming “democracy has been sidestepped here.”

Mayor Moran was not present in the meeting and the council executive did not provide answers to the questions.

But council official Kieran Lehane proposed to raise the matter in a behind-closed-doors briefing for northside members.

READ MORE: Social housing scheme planned for Limerick suburb

Labour councillor Conor Sheehan welcomed the withdrawal of the purchase, though.

He said: “I think a better use has been found for this building. And I am glad we are retaining it. It’s a fantastic historically important building and I would to see it just turned into something like an office.”

As part of the mayor's written answer, the award of around €200,000 in town centre renewal funding was mentioned to use across the King's Island area of the city.

Fine Gael's leader in the metropolitan district Daniel Butler said: “Whether we agree with the decision or not, we have to call into question the undermining of a democratic decision. I'd have huge concerns. I'd nearly be thinking we should be looking at legal advice around this being permissible.”