Before raising some questions about Templemore Garda training college, I would like to commend the Government for prioritising Garda recruitment. Obviously, the accelerated and expanded recruitment campaign is very welcome from a national perspective and will help to address the deficit in Garda numbers.

The increased activity at the training college in Templemore will make an enormous contribution to the economic and social life of Templemore town and its community. This growth in college activity must be sustained into the long term. However, there are currently practical and logistical problems that need to be addressed. There is a need for more bedroom accommodation. Additional classroom space is required and parking around the college has become a nightmare for everyone, including those working in the college and locals living in the town. At present, there are 450 students at the college and another 200 students will start there on 20 November. From February to November of next year, 800 new recruits will attend the college. We now have serious accommodation and facilities problems at the college.

The Department of Justice and Equality is currently preparing a competitive tender for hotels to provide bedroom accommodation and classroom facilities. I am anxious to ensure that the competition will be run within the county of Tipperary and that no excuse will be made for moving some of that work to Dublin or elsewhere. I also want to raise the concerns of the catering and cleaning staff of the college, whom I met recently. They have a hugely increased workload, are completely understaffed and they feel that they are being treated very unfairly. There is a great deal of discontent, which has led to a threatened strike because staff are so overburdened.

I would also ask the Minister to consider a more permanent accommodation solution. The Office of Public Works, OPW, against Garda advice, purchased 200 acres of land in Clonmore, which is about eight miles outside Templemore. This land was purchased at an outrageously high price. The OPW paid in the region of €5 million for it but it has become a green elephant. Nothing has happened there since it was purchased. There was a security patrol on it for years and now it is being leased as farm land.

There was a grandiose pie-in-the-sky plan to relocate the driving school, the firing range and the Garda mounted unit to this land. It was never going to happen. It is not going to happen. I suggest that this land should be sold and that land available adjacent to the Garda College should be purchased to facilitate these plans. Will the Minister confirm that the multi-tiered block of office accommodation will go ahead? I understand that officials in the Department are attempting to invest €2 million in that. Will the Minister tell me what is the status of that project?

I thank Deputy Lowry for his acknowledgement of the reinvestment in the Garda that is occurring under the leadership of the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald. I will give some examples of that investment. We provided for 457 new vehicles in 2014 and 486 new vehicles in 2015. More than 500 new vehicles will come on stream this year, compared to just 50 new vehicles in 2010 when the party opposite was in power. We have provided an additional €205 million to equip gardaí with much-needed new technology and ICT equipment. The number of civilian staff will be increased to provide support services and thereby allow gardaí to concentrate on their front-line work. The aim is to increase the strength of the force to 15,000, with Garda Reserve and civilian staff being in addition to that. A big programme of investment in Garda stations is under way. Anyone who passes Kevin Street Garda station on his or her way home today can take a look at what is being done there.

On the specific question of the Garda College in Templemore, I assure Deputy Lowry that the Government is committed to the target, as set out in the programme for Government agreed by Fine Gael and the Independents, of increasing the strength of the force to 15,000 gardaí. The Government reopened the Garda College when it restarted Garda recruitment in 2014. The Tánaiste has secured funding for the recruitment of 800 gardaí in 2017. It is anticipated that this level of recruitment will continue until the strength of the force reaches 15,000 by 2021. A major OPW programme of works to improve the accommodation and blocks in the Garda College in Templemore is necessary and well advanced. Plans are being drawn up and the Minister is seeking funding from within her Vote to allow these works to proceed. It is also acknowledged that further work may be required to provide additional facilities. The Garda and the OPW are analysing the needs and precise requirements for the coming years. We are confident that we can meet our target of putting 800 recruits through the college next year without significant additional works. It is essential that we ensure An Garda Síochána has the capacity to train larger numbers without any diminution in the quality of its training programme, to provide appropriate supervision to support newly qualified gardaí and to ensure the victims of crime are well served.

Deputy Lowry will be aware of the crucial role the training college plays in the local community in Templemore. It is a significant source of employment in north Tipperary and the surrounding region. Templemore will be part of the significant investment programme that is under way in An Garda Síochána, as will funding for the new forensic science laboratory, which is a very important facility. Budgetary increases have also been provided for regulatory bodies like the Charities Regulatory Authority and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.

I welcome the Minister's comments. I ask the OPW to expedite the development programme. We need a tiered office block and training centre on the site in Templemore. The Minister told me recently that it is at an advanced stage and I welcome that.

I would like to bring to the attention of the Minister and the Department of Justice and Equality that a disagreement has arisen involving rent arrears at Templemore Golf Club. The golf club, which was founded in 1970 and is affiliated to the Golfing Union of Ireland, was controlled by the Garda authorities before it was handed over to the civilian membership by agreement. I am anxious to ensure the golf club, which has 300 members who value and appreciate the facility that is available to them, is retained. There are options to expand and develop the Garda training facilities at Templemore without encroaching on the golf club, which is used extensively by the local community. I would ask that the development programme would take account of that. In other words, it can happen without encroaching on the club.

The Deputy might invite the Minister to play a round.

I do not have any detail in front of me in relation to the golf club or the other site mentioned by the Deputy. I know this is a matter of great interest to him. This important national facility is located in his constituency. I think Templemore has served the Garda and the State extremely well over the years. I refer to the quality of the training that is provided at the college and the quality of the supports that are available in County Tipperary.

I was speaking to the Tánaiste earlier this morning, and I know she is back later today. I will certainly bring Deputy Lowry's comments to her attention. I know she will be happy to engage directly with Deputy Lowry on the matter.