Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Commissioner has addressed those issues. I will return to the issue of the North because comparative policing and its success in different countries and regions both in the EU and in different parts of this island is an important factor in this debate. What is important in modern policing is that gardaí are involved in front-line duties. The PSNI inherited 140 stations but by 2015, just 49 stations will remain. This is in the context of Deputy McDonald's party being in government in the North. The Deputy should ask herself why her colleagues in the North agree to have a 40% reduction in the number of police stations. I assume they did so in order to allow for more effective use of policing resources by putting PSNI members out on the front line.

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