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

The Deputy will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is primarily responsible for the effective and efficient use of the resources available to her, including in relation to Garda stations.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Síochána district and station rationalisation programme, which we have just been discussing, gave rise to the closure in 2012 and 2013 of 139 Garda stations, including Garda stations at Ballyduff and Stradbally in County Waterford, following the completion by An Garda Síochána of a comprehensive review of its district and station network. That review was undertaken with the objective of identifying opportunities to introduce strategic reforms to enhance service delivery, increase efficiency and streamline practices within the organisation. I have been advised by the Garda authorities that the closures have allowed front-line gardaí to be managed and deployed with greater mobility, greater flexibility and in a more focused fashion, particularly with regard to targeted police operations.

The programme for Government commits the Government to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and to deter crime.

A cornerstone of this commitment is the recruitment plan. The Deputy was here and heard what I had to say. I have asked the Garda Commissioner, while fully cognisant of her statutory functions, to identify six stations for reopening on a pilot basis to determine possible positive impacts that such openings will have on criminal activity, with special emphasis on burglary, theft and public order. The pilot will feed into that wider review by the Garda Síochána Inspectorate of the dispersal and use of all resources available to the Garda because we have to look at that and decide how they can best be managed. I understand that work is continuing to identify the six stations for inclusion in the pilot and that consultations have taken place with the relevant stakeholders, including the Policing Authority, and in this context I am sure the Deputy would agree that a comprehensive and evidence-based analysis should be carried out, taking account of all of the relevant factors, before a final decision is made in respect of the stations to be reopened by the Commissioner. I expect to receive that report in May and so I cannot give the Deputy detail about her own area. I will be in a position to announce whatever the objective decision is at that time.

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