Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In the review of the Garda station network Garda management concluded in respect of certain stations, many of which were only open part-time and manned by a single garda, that resources could be better deployed and more effectively used on the front line if those stations were no longer staffed and maintained. In reaching these conclusions, Garda management reviewed all aspects of the Garda Síochána policing model, including the deployment of personnel, the utilisation of modern technologies and the overall operation of Garda stations. The programme supports the provision of 21st century policing services for urban and rural areas and allows front-line gardaí to be managed and deployed with greater mobility and flexibility and in a more focused fashion, in particular with regard to various targeted police operations. As a result of the programme, communities have benefitted from increased Garda visibility and increased patrolling hours have been enabled.

In tandem with the rationalisation of stations the Government has been determined to ensure that the Garda Síochána has the resources to deliver highly mobile and responsive Garda patrols in rural and urban communities. A total of €29 million has been invested.

I wish to inform the House that today I am announcing the allocation of a further €5.3 million to An Garda Síochána for the purchase of 260 vehicles between now and the end of the year. This new investment will provide the Garda with additional high-powered vehicles, marked and unmarked patrol cars, cars for surveillance and covert operations, motor cycles for high-visibility road policing and vehicles for public order policing. This investment in a modern effective and fit-for-purpose Garda fleet will continue under the capital programme, under which a further €46 million has been allocated for Garda vehicles over the lifetime of the plan. That will facilitate what is needed in communities today, which is additional funding for Garda surveillance, special operations and targeted intelligence-led policing.

That will be accompanied by the continued renewal of Garda personnel with 600 new gardaí to be recruited next year on top of the 550 by the end of this year. The totality of this investment will ensure that the Garda has the necessary tools and manpower to tackle the scourge of highly mobile gangs and to disrupt crime, particularly burglaries in rural and urban areas.

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