Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I caution the Deputy about talking about fear and terror. Let us get back to the discussion of the closure of Garda stations. Some 94% of the stations that have closed were open for no more than three hours and the vast majority of these were only open in the morning. They made no contribution of significance to crime prevention by their presence. The vast majority of burglaries take place in the late afternoon or evening time. Does the Deputy or any Deputy in the House really imagine that a rural Garda station open for three hours in the morning can make any contribution to crime prevention in these areas? Operation Fiacla is making a contribution to crime prevention and detection in these areas. It was put in place last February by the Garda Commissioner and has resulted in a substantial number of arrests, in the region of 3,500 arrests since the beginning of October. In the region of 1,700 charges have been brought against individuals purely by focusing on and tacking the area of burglary.

I realise the Deputy's question is well meant but the Defence Forces, composed of the Army, the Naval Service and the Air Corps, perform distinct and specific functions entirely different from those of An Garda Síochána. Gardaí have particular training and skills which are important not only for crime detection and prevention but for the large array of laws that they must administer. That level of study could not be undertaken by any well-meaning member of the Defence Forces, even if it were desirable, within a three month period.

The concluding comment I wish to make and which is appropriate on this subject because it is not acknowledged enough is that I am conscious as Minister in both of these Departments of the extraordinary bravery not only of members of the Garda force in confronting subversion and organised crime within the country, but of the Defence Forces, in particular the explosive and ordnance disposal teams. There is no real public understanding yet of the extent to which some of those engaged in organised crime are resorting to the use of such ordnance and of the bravery of members the specialist unit within the Army, which is regularly called out to dispose of pipe bombs and similar ordnance, the remarkable efficiency with which it does so, the extent to which these instruments are neutralised and the safety the unit provides for the community. It is in the connectivity between the distinct functions of the Garda and the specialist knowledge of the Defence Forces that the Defence Forces are playing a role in protecting the community and it is right that we pay tribute to the bravery of those who undertake these missions.

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