Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Deputy Alan Shatter, has asked me to thank Senator O'Donovan for raising this matter. It provides the Minister with an opportunity to clarify the position on this important topic which the Senator has highlighted.

Before I continue, I know the House will join me, on behalf of the Minister, in expressing our deepest sympathies to the family, colleagues and friends of Garda Ciaran Jones. Garda Jones was swept away while helping members of the public under the most hazardous of conditions yesterday evening in County Wicklow. His courageous actions were in the finest tradition of the Garda Síochána.

It is important that the matter raised by Senator O'Donovan is put into context. The House will be aware that, under plans agreed by the previous Government as part of its compliance with the terms of the EU-IMF agreement, Garda numbers are to be reduced to 13,500 by the end of this year and by a further 500 to 13,000 by 2014.

However, what will ultimately determine the sustainable level of Garda numbers is the level of budgetary provision that can be made for the force in the coming years, and the House will be conscious that difficult decisions will have to be made throughout the public sector to bring our public finances back into balance.

This means the Garda Síochána, like every other public sector body, will have to manage with reduced resources. Therefore, the Garda Commissioner is reviewing all aspects of current policing, including the deployment of personnel, the utilisation of modern technologies and the operation of Garda stations.

It is important to state that no decision has been taken on the closure of any Garda station. What is equally important is that a reduction in public opening hours in some Garda stations, and the closure of other Garda stations, will be issues that the Garda Commissioner will have to address as part of the review. He may well 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.

The Minister will very carefully consider the outcome of this review and the Commissioner's policing plan for next year with the objective of ensuring that priority is given to the maintenance of frontline services. At the same time, the Minister can assure the Senator and the House that it is a priority for the Government to maintain Garda frontline services at the highest level possible.

On behalf of the Minister, I pay tribute to the Garda Síochána, at this particularly difficult time, for the commitment and the professionalism its members display in carrying out their duties. The Minister is confident that the Garda force will continue to maintain the confidence of the public and operate successfully as it has been doing so effectively since the foundation of the State.