NAAS: 23 May 2001: by Trish Whelan. Some £500,000 has been paid to a private security firm since the closure of Devoy Barracks by the Minister for Defence.
This emerged at a recent UDC meeting when Cllr Pat McCarthy said arrangements should be made to ensure the Council does not incur unnecessary security costs after it becomes the owner of the lands at Devoy Barracks.
Officials pointed out that £300 a day is not an unreasonable cost to secure the property. It was pointed out that there may be some time between the transfer of the property and the start of construction work on the site.
“It would be foolhardy of us to leave the site without secuity pending the work,” town clerk Declan Kirrane told the meeting. However he said every effort will be made to keep the costs down.
Cllr McCarthy said he wanted to avoid unnecessary costs to the Council. He felt £300 a day was a ‘terrible waste of money’ and would be an ‘intolerable burden’ on the Council. He suggested someone from the UDC’s housing list may opt to live in a bungalow on the property, on a temporary basis, while agreeing to 'keep an eye on the place'.
But Mr Kirrane said the state of the house in question had deteriorated. He added that it would be an onorous task for one family to take on such responsibility. “A security company has back up,” he added.
Cllr Pat O'Reilly said: “It’s imperative we move to have development there as soon as possible.”
"If we’re buying the site, it becomes an asset which needs to be protected,” Cllr Seamie Moore said. He noted how the Curragh Barracks had been ‘cleaned out of red bricks’ which were in great demand, and he believed there was much that could be salvaged from Devoy Barracks.
Cllr Charlie Byrne said he feared caravans could enter the site if the premises was not properly secured. “Otherwise we could be spending another £5,000 in legal fees to remove them.”
©2001trishwhelan/knn