SEVERAL units of the Limerick Garda Division this week moved to spacious new premises adjoining their Henry Street Headquaters, relieving the pressure on existing space.
Several month ago, the Limerick Post exclusively revealed that a number of floors at the former Eircom building at Estuary House had been leased by the Office of Public Works to facilitate the move.
Inspector John O’Reilly told this newspaper that the additional space was needed to ease their workload.
Estuary House was built in the 1970s by local developer Charles Humphreys.
Accordng to Inspector O’Reilly, there are more than 360 garda personnel in Limerick, with 60 transferring to their new accommodation, comprising a generous 13,000 square feet.
There had been concerns, he said, about overcrowding at Henry Street, adding that the transfer of several units to Estuary House would allow the public to have more privacy.
It has now been confirmed that a new forensics collision unit will take up residency at Estuary House, which had been on the property market with Hickey O’Donoghue Auctioneers for almost two years. The traffic corp and crime prevention unit have also taken up residence there.
The holding cells, meanwhile, will continue at Henry Street Station.
At one stage, the Office of Public Works had expressed an interest in acquiring space at the now Irish Aid offices, before opting instead for Estuary House.
Plans are already in place to relocate Limerick District Court to a more secure location in the city and while a Henry Street site had been widely mooted, Mulgrave Street is now said to be the preferred option.
