Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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I acknowledge that the Minister for Justice and Equality is in the Chamber to hear this matter. Up to 200 Garda stations could possibly face closure after this year's budget as the Government seeks to cut funding. The Garda Commissioner, Martin Callinan, has asked chief superintendents around the country to draw up a list of stations that could be closed as the force prepares for Government cuts to its budget.

I am acutely aware, as every other representative here is, of the impact this could have on my own constituency and County Kerry generally. It is thought that the stations most likely to be closed are those manned by a single Garda officer in rural areas.

In recent years, many rural stations have had considerable resources put into them, including updating and remodelling, to make them suitable for the years ahead. It is unthinkable that those stations may possibly face closure, which would be an awful situation. It will be a further blow to rural Ireland. I am acutely aware of the impact this will have on the ground, particularly to elderly people living in rural locations. The loss of Garda stations is like what happened long ago when the railway tracks were torn up and the trains stopped running. That was a set-back to Ireland and is now readily acknowledged as having been wrong.

County Donegal is expected to see a significant amount of closures with up to 24 stations possibly being earmarked due to the number of small, part-time Garda stations there. There are 240 one-man Garda stations nationwide from a total of over 700. The proposed closures come at a time when the Garda Síochána are on the verge of a significant drop off in numbers. Membership within the force is facing a large fall as the retirement rate increases, combined with the suspension of Garda recruitment. Garda numbers have already fallen by 500 to about 14,000 and an estimated 1,200 members have 30 years of service and are entitled to take early retirement.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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There is serious alarm across Donegal about possible Garda station closures. Local newspapers and other media have reported the story, as well as naming the locations involved. It all started because a report in The Irish Times which specifically mentioned 24 stations across County Donegal that had been put to the Garda Commissioner. I tabled a parliamentary question to the Minister for Justice and Equality but I am not happy with the response. The Minister's reply said he understood the Garda Commissioner is currently carrying out a review. Is it not correct that the Commissioner has been told to save money and make cutbacks? He has put this request to chief superintendents throughout the State and has got the identities of stations. The stations that have been publicly named in County Donegal are as follows: Carrick, Glencolumcille, Annagry, Burtonport, Creeslough, Dunfanaghy, Rathmullen, Ramelton, Pettigo, Churchill, Brockagh, Carrigans, Newtoncunningham, Raphoe, Convoy, Malin and Culdaff. Others have been mentioned also.

Across those communities there is serious concern, so I call on the Minister to state that no Garda stations will be closed in County Donegal under his watch. Fine Gael sets itself up as a law and order party. The Minister has met many delegations with chief superintendents to discuss crime in Donegal. Recently, we had a spate of arson attacks and burglaries. In addition, we have had road traffic incidents. Donegal is a difficult rural county to police. We have lost Garda officers as those who retired have not been replaced due to the recruitment moratorium. The Minister should state simply that no Garda stations will be closing in County Donegal. I urge him to do that now.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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It is very refreshing to hear Sinn Féin's full support for the Garda Síochána. I am sure the force will be delighted to know it has the full support of that party, bearing in mind its conduct in the past.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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What conduct?

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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The Minister should deal with the questions raised.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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The Minister should address the issue, please.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I thank both Deputies for raising these matters. In particular, it provides me with an opportunity to address the position on the important topics that have been highlighted. The Deputies will be aware that under plans agreed by the previous Government - supported by Deputy Healy-Rae's father - it is part of the Government's obligation to comply with the terms of the EU-IMF agreement. Under the terms of that agreement, Garda numbers were to be reduced from 14,500 in 2010 to 13,500 by the end of this year, and by a further 500 to 13,000 by 2014.

This is a situation the Government has inherited and it is not of its own making, nor is the financial and fiscal disaster brought on the country by the previous Government. In the context of the framework within which we must operate, the reduction in Garda numbers is inextricably linked to the extremely difficult economic conditions which continue to face the country.

At the same time, I want to assure both Deputies, and the House generally, that it is a priority for the Government to maintain Garda front line services at the highest possible level. In the circumstances, it is entirely appropriate that the Garda Commissioner should carry out a review of An Garda Síochána's capacity to operate with reduced resources. The review to which the Deputies have referred remains incomplete.

The Commissioner has indicated that, in conjunction with his senior management team, the review is continuing to be undertaken. Additionally, he has confirmed that his primary focus in the review will be to ensure that Garda resources are managed and deployed in the most appropriate manner to meet existing and emerging policing requirements.

The Commissioner's review is examining all aspects of current policing, including the deployment of personnel, the utilisation of modern technologies and the operation of Garda stations. Clearly, an examination of the opening hours, and in some cases the viability, of stations form part of the review. These are important operational issues which must be addressed by those best placed to make informed decisions based on a professional assessment of how best to meet the policing needs of the country as a whole.

The closure of some Garda stations will be a question the Commissioner will have to address as part of the review process. In that connection he will have to consider whether, in appropriate cases, a better policing service could be delivered to a local community by having Garda members out on patrol rather than in a station. That being said, I wish to make it fully clear at this juncture that no decisions of any nature have been made in regard to the closure of any individual Garda stations, contrary to what has been suggested this afternoon. I am looking forward to receiving the Commissioner's proposals which will be directed towards maximising Garda efficiency as well as prioritising in difficult financial circumstances the resources available for operational front line policing.

In the context of the overall situation as detailed by both Deputies the crucial issue is that we maintain front-line services, that the resources provided to An Garda Síochána are used as efficiently as possible and that we maintain and continue to maintain law and order. I have the greatest respect for the efficiencies and capacities of the Garda to do so. It is worth noting in the context of reduced numbers that the reductions that must be effected by 2014 will return the Garda force to numbers as existed in 2006. No one suggested in 2006 that the force could not fulfil its obligations and duties and I have no doubt it will continue to do so. However, an assessment of how resources are to be used is a matter for the Garda Commissioner and I await the completion of the review and his recommendations and advice of the action he intends taking.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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I thank the Minister. I mean this in the most respectful way but people's patience is running very thin when they see Ministers referring to the previous Government. That song is worn out at this stage and I ask the Minister and all his colleagues to give it up. They all wanted to be the Government and that is where they are now.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has only 40 seconds for making a point.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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Deputy Shatter is the Minister with responsibility for the Garda Síochána.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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That is no use at all.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy kept them up for 14 years.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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I respectfully ask the Minister to give an assurance-----

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Please allow the Deputy.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Kerry lost the all-Ireland as well.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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-----to the gardaí who are keeping law and order in these stations which are in place and which have been paid for. An investment has been made in these stations. It will not cost the sun, moon and stars to keep them open. Like my colleague, I have serious concerns when I hear talk of stations in places such as Barraduff, Kilgarvan, Lauragh and Beaufort, being closed. It would be a huge blow to rural Ireland. I respectfully ask the Minister to do his best to try to keep open every one of those stations. I really believe it would not save money to close them but it would be a retrograde step. I ask the Minister to please take on board the views of myself and my colleagues on this matter.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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It is unfortunate the Minister has demeaned his office with cheap remarks. I can assure him that my reputation as a partner to the Garda Síochána in Donegal is second to none. I ask him to check with the Garda Commissioner and his colleagues as to my reputation in Donegal in that regard. I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in confronting criminality in that county over recent years.

To deal with the issue at hand, I note the Minister has failed to make it clear that no Garda stations in Donegal will close under his watch. I appeal to him to take the opportunity to do so in this House. There are headlines across the county and I am receiving e-mails, as are his Government colleagues, from communities, from groups representing the elderly and from community watch groups who are deeply concerned about these suggestions. With a few words, the Minister could solve this problem now. I ask him to state categorically that he will not close any Garda stations and that he will not accept any closure of Garda stations in Donegal under his watch. That is the challenge. I plead with him to take up this challenge today.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I will conclude by saying clearly that neither Deputy has learned anything. Both of them engaged in what could best be described as the demeaning and discredited politics of yesteryear. It is very interesting to listen to both Deputies. I refer to the scare achieved by listing stations which are going to be closed in circumstances when no decision has yet been taken to close any station. I refer to the demand that I make a commitment that no station, regardless of circumstances, will ever close and that I should ignore reality. Let us, God forbid, not refer to the fact that the legacy of the previous Government was to put this State into receivership and to undermine the finances of the State and turn us into a dependency of the ECB and the IMF. Let us pretend this is not a reality. However, this is not the way the world works, unfortunately. For this State and for I as Minister to comply with obligations under the agreement concluded by the previous Government, which Deputy Healy Rae and his father supported, I have to find savings of €340 million in the Estimates for the Department of Justice and Equality between now and 2014.

The reality is we cannot be any more flaithiúil with taxpayers' money because we are actually spending the money being lent to us by the European Central Bank and the IMF. We have to get this State's economy back in order. The other reality is I have the utmost confidence in the Garda Commissioner and in An Garda Síochána to make the right decisions to provide the communities with the protections they require and to ensure that those who break the law are properly and fully investigated and brought before our courts.

I will not engage in a false piece of politicking or make false commitments which I am unable to keep. Every Department will have to find savings to meet our international financial obligations and to ensure that we keep this State afloat. The alternative, which the Deputies might have an enthusiasm for, is that this State is put into bankruptcy and taxpayers of this State are required to pay even higher taxes than is the case at present. Let us not pretend that we live in some political vacuum where Garda stations of themselves have a value. What has a value is an excellent modern responsive policing service and while I am Minister for Justice and Equality, that is what we will continue to have.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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The Minister is also getting value in the rural Garda stations.