Portlaoise Garda station €25 m revamp still on track indicates Garda HQ

The decision not to merge the Laois Offaly Garda Division with Kildare does not mean the multi-million euro revamp of Portlaosie Garda Station will not be put under review.

In a surprise move this August, Garda Headquarters in Dublin announced that following consultation it would not proceed with the merger of Kildare Division with Laois and Offaly as had been announced before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Instead, it was revealed that Laois and Offaly would remain but the previously standalone Kildare district would be merged with Carlow to form a new division.

The move was announced as work is underway to facilitate a major expansion and enhancement of the existing Laois Offaly HQ - Portlaoise Garda Station which was on course to be the new HQ for the three-county policing district.

The inclusion of Kildare was factored into the design of the overhaul which will involve the €25 million modernisation of the existing Garda Station which would include the construction of a new annex on the site of a building that's being used by the Defence Forces.

A new building is under construction near the Irish Prison Service College in Portlaoise to facilitate the Army. Soldiers require a building to prepare for duty at Portlaoise Prison.

When complete the army-used building at the Garda Station will be knocked to be replaced by a new Garda facility that will link with the existing Portlaoise station.

While nobody in the Laois Offaly Division was available for comment, the Leinster Express / Laois Live asked Garda HQ in Dublin if the plan for the Divisional HQ in Portlaoise is to proceed as planned, if the Laois Offaly Division was not changing in size.

A statement appears to confirm that the building will proceed as planned in the Laois county town.

"An impact assessment will be carried out in the revised divisions, but in the case of Laois/Offaly it is expected that the Divisional HQ for this revised Division will remain in Portlaoise. The construction project is not under review and is not part of the impact assessment review for this Division".

The Office of Public Works had already commenced the process of securing 55 temporary accommodation units to house garda members in Portlaoise.

The accommodation will be used by Gardai who will be moved to a State-owned site in Portlaoise while the new Laois Offaly Kildare Garda Headquarters is being completed. 

Garda merger u-turn as three county division with HQ in Laois scrapped

The former Maryborough Barracks dates to the early 1800s. It is described by National Inventory of Architectural Heritage as a building complex that forms a "significant set-piece and greatly enriches the historic and architectural landscape of Portlaoise".