Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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106. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality for her views on whether the €500,000 realised by Garda Síochána station closures since 2012 has been a worthwhile saving; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35217/15]

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister comment on the recent disclosure to the effect that the saving to the Exchequer following the closure of 139 Garda stations has amounted to €500,000 and whether this represents bad value for money?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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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.

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the fact the Minister has allocated additional money to purchase 260 vehicles. They are welcome and needed.

We should go further in many areas that we have previously discussed, such as recruitment, mandatory sentencing and a camera network along our motorways and at motorway junctions.

The Minister and I have a different perspective on Garda stations. The Government feels it made right decision in closing 139 Garda stations. Everybody else is on the other side of the argument, including the political establishment, community-based organisations, the IFA, members of An Garda Síochána, the GRA and the AGSI. They all feel it was the wrong decision to remove the presence of An Garda Síochána from many communities. In my constituency in Doon, County Limerick, a man died.

The proof that it was the wrong decision, along with everything else, is the fact that we have a detection rate of 13% in respect of burglaries. I know the Government will be very slow to back down on this, but in order to move the debate on and to bring a degree of realism to it, would the Minister not ask the Garda Inspectorate to carry out an impact analysis of the areas where Garda stations were closed to see how the level of policing diminished and crime rates varied arising from that? We were supposed to have an independent An Garda Síochána review of the decision following its implementation. I do not know why that did not happen, but in the absence of that could we please have an independent panel? Could the Minister ask the Garda Inspectorate to consider it?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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There is no correlation between the closure of Garda stations and burglary rates. That is the reality of the situation. What we need is what I have outlined, namely, increased Garda visibility and patrol hours, increased mobility and flexibility within an area, resulting in an improved policing service for the public, enhanced co-ordination of Garda activity and more gardaí, as we are providing by recruiting 1,150 extra gardaí.

Fianna Fáil stopped investing in An Garda Síochána in 2009 until it left government, which led to many of the current difficulties. This Government has started the kind of investment that is needed and it will be ongoing, which is what will lead to reduced difficulties and get the best results. On the Deputy's figures on burglaries being solved, if he examines Operation Fiacla he will find the numbers of people arrested and charged are not the percentages he quoted.

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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It is outrageous for the Minister to say in the House that there is no correlation between the closure of Garda stations and crime in particular areas. That is not what communities are telling us. I have attended about 40 public meetings around Ireland and a common message came from all of them, namely, that people want the presence of An Garda Síochána in their communities, which can be provided when there is a base and presence in an area. None of the compensatory follow-up actions promised by the Minister's predecessor, such as Garda clinics or the roll-out of mobile Garda services, was ever followed through on.

People need reassurance and to know that a member of An Garda Síochána is in the community. Unfortunately, that is not happening. The Government pointed to decisions taken in 2009. We know the facts of what happened then. It was this Government which kept the moratorium in place, while at the same time recruiting into the Defence Forces and other parts of the Civil Service and public service. Could we have an honest referee regarding this? Could the Minister ask the Garda Inspectorate to carry out an impact analysis of the areas to which I referred? It is a reasonable request which should be considered.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Fianna Fáil stopped investing in recruiting gardaí, which has led to the lack of a visible presence in urban and rural communities. It is as a result of the decisions it took that the investment in An Garda Síochána stopped. We are now restarting it, and that is how visible policing will return to urban and rural communities.

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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The Government recruited to the Defence Forces.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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We are determined to tackle rural and urban crime. We have to ensure that the resources on the front line and the necessary legislation are in place. I am bringing in the strongest legislation there has ever been - it is currently before the House - on burglaries because they are heinous crimes and need to be dealt with effectively. That legislation will ensure repeat offenders will have difficulty in getting bail and will serve consecutive rather than shorter sentences, which is what is happening at the current time. The Judiciary will have the legislation in place to allow that to happen, which is extremely important.

The mobile resources gardaí need, the cars and the vehicles and the numbers, will be there. A total of 61,000 extra hours have been made available. They are now in use at the same time as these other initiatives. That is what is going to make a difference in tackling urban and rural crime.