Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What savings are being achieved with having gardaí 15 miles away from their station attending a District Court elsewhere and the drain on policing resources that stems from that? I accept savings have to be made. However, consultation with local stakeholders is not meaningful because the grounds for the decision do not resonate with any stakeholders involved. I have sought clarification from the Minister on what seems to be a centralisation policy solely based on cost-cutting measures. If this is the case, the cost for rural areas is that services will be closed down. There should be more consideration than that and recognition of realities such as the availability of public transport. There is not the same level of public transport available to Castlebar that there is to Ballina.

I have been in contact with the Courts Service and it automatically assumed the court work from Swinford would go to Castlebar with no consideration given for Ballina. I appreciate the service may look at this in light of the case I have made to it. However, it shows that the concerns of local stakeholders affected by these decisions were not taken seriously. A buildings committee sitting in Dublin has no concept of what it is to be operating in rural Ireland.

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