Mr. Noel Waters:

As I said, I am conscious to avoid making a comment on a policy matter. It is important to note there was a significant deficit in the resource envelope for the Garda Síochána. Action has been taken to address that, particularly in the past 18 months, in terms of the provision of equipment and manpower. When one looks at the overall situation in respect of stations, one should factor in that there will be more gardaí becoming available to serve communities. The Government is committed to keeping Templemore reopened for the purposes of ensuring we do not find ourselves in a situation where the level of recruitment stops entirely, which it did some years ago, and that we have a continuous flow of recruitment into and replenishment of the force.