Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I just wish to make the point that page 11 states it would have been easier to start with a blank sheet and decide rather than have the criterion that there had to be a previously existing station for reopening to be considered. We must be careful not to stray into the area in which the justice committee most properly would have an involvement. There are costs in picking particular stations out for refurbishment. I heard something on the radio about Rush, where a community group has put €20,000 into the refurbishment of a former Garda station because it is using it as a community facility. There are issues regarding the refurbishment costs and there are other costs. There are also sometimes incomes from these stations in respect of the masts, on which I have asked a question to which I hope to have an answer this week. I asked Nóirín O'Sullivan when she was before the committee about the deployment of resources. For years, I have been running up and down to meet Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners because the census of population has not been used in the determination of the deployment of Garda resources. In fact, the lowest ratio of gardaí to population is-----