Need for All-Ireland training centre

14 January 2015

A STORMONT Minister has been pressed to include the need for an All-Ireland training centre for the emergency services in Ballykinlar in a review of the Province’s proposed new community safety college.

Plans for the new £130m college at Desertcreat in Co. Tyrone were put on hold last November.

The proposed development of the new college — which is one of the biggest ever construction projects proposed for Northern Ireland — is being reviewed.

Stormont Justice Minister David Ford has been asked by South Down MP Margaret Ritchie to ensure the Ballykinlar proposals are included in the discussions.

Miss Ritchie is pressing for the provision of an All-Ireland emergency services training centre at Ballykinlar and is lobbying for the project to be given the green light.

She has been pursuing Mr. Ford and the Ministry of Defence in London to ascertain if it would be possible to achieve the all-island training centre at the former army base where a considerable level of training infrastructure is in place.

Soldiers are no longer based in Ballykinlar, with the base now managed by a private firm as a training facility the army.

Miss Ritchie said a dedicated all-island emergency services training centre at the former army base would help secure local employment and provide new economic opportunities for the Ballykinlar and wider community in Down.

She revealed Mr. Ford informed her via a parliamentary response that a review is being undertaken into the proposed community safety college in Co. Tyrone, with a report due to be published in early April. Work on a completed business case addendum is scheduled to be finished by the end of June.

“I have urged Minister Ford to ensure that in the ongoing deliberations the suitability of the Ballykinlar base is given positive consideration as part of the provision of any all-island emergency training centre, said the MP. “I will be pursuing Minister Ford further on this issue within the next week.”

It was confirmed last week that a senior government minister visited the Ballykinlar base, with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) confirming it has a long term requirement for the sprawling facility.

Miss Ritchie revealed she has been informed that the MOD still has a long term requirement for the wider Ballykinlar training centre and work on finalising the future requirement of the estate in Northern Ireland is still ongoing.

The MP said she has been informed the MOD has a “continuing need” for the Ballykinlar site in respect of the training estate element, with Minister of State Anna Soubry confirming Ballykinlar is a “strategic site” as some of its facilities are not able to be repositioned elsewhere.

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