Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Tá áthas orm a bheith in ann labhairt ar an rún seo mar tá an t-ábhar seo i mbéal an phobail agus thar a bheith tábhachtach.

The closure of Garda stations and the reductions in time are causing considerable concern from Mizen Head to Malin Head, and from Connemara to Stepaside. I raised this issue in the House only a week or two ago in response to the Private Members' motion tabled by the Labour Party. We saw some 100 Garda stations closed at the end of last month, on 31 January. This is a crushing blow to rural areas, and I do not believe that the Minister truly understands the effect it will have, not only on community safety but also on the community spirit and people's sense of security and safety in rural communities. I made the point the week before last that the local garda is a key focal point and plays a significant role as a community resource and point of contact. The cuts weaken the social fabric in the affected communities.

We are to move an amendment to the motion because, while it is correct in what it says, the proposers have neglected to recognise that this is a process which began under a Fianna Fáil Government, although it has certainly escalated substantially under the current Minister. As the amendment states, there was a commitment in the 2010 national recovery plan agreed between the Fianna Fáil-Green Party coalition and the troika to cut the number of gardaí from 14,500 that year to 13,500 the following year, and to 13,000 in 2014, representing a total reduction of 10%. There were also substantial reductions in closing times and closures of Garda stations in that time.

In the 2008 report produced by my party colleague Deputy Pearse Doherty, Awakening the West, it was highlighted that, by November 2008, in almost half of all the Garda stations in Cork, Kerry, Clare, Galway and Roscommon the complement had been reduced to one garda operating on a part-time basis. In many of those cases, Garda stations were closed on Sundays, and opening hours during the week were limited to the period between 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

It is remarkable that the call to reopen Templemore, correct though it may be, comes from the party under whose watch in 2010 the college had no students for the first time. The Garda Representative Association president, Mr. Michael O'Boyce, claimed that the force was on the brink of disaster, as so many experienced gardaí were being lost to it and no new blood was coming in.

The reality is that the State has by and large failed to take rural policing seriously. It requires a different approach and thinking than applies to the policing of urban areas. There is a very obvious value to the local garda and rural Garda stations in the prevention of crime. That is very apparent to me, and the Minister's approach of simply using PULSE crime figures seems blunt and very unwieldy.

There is increasing evidence that police station closures can lead to an increase in crime. In England, where rural police services have seen similar cutbacks, crime figures have surged. Violent crime rose by 119% in country areas between 1988 and 1989 and 2006 and 2007 compared with a national increase of 108%.

Many crimes in rural areas go unreported. This is not as it should be but it is the reality.

In addition, many crimes in rural areas go unreported. This is not as it should be but it is the reality. According to an IFA survey, more than 10% of farmers have been victims of crime, which is quite considerable.

The Minister claimed the Garda station network was established at a time when gardaí travelled on bicycles but as my colleague, Deputy Colreavy, noted in the Dáil last week, criminals have also moved with the times and they do not travel on bicycles either. They are as mobile as the gardaí, if not more so. They are also clinical and calculating. One can be sure that many of them have examined the list of closed Garda stations, or stations with reduced hours, and are establishing what are the easy targets and what parts of the country will now be hard for gardaí to reach. Remote rural areas, such as those where elderly pensioners have twice been targeted in callous burglaries and assaults, will become the focus of these criminals.

There was an incident in Rossaveal at the weekend when more than 100 youths in cars displayed their rallying expertise along the rural roads of Connemara. A young man was seriously assaulted with a mallet but there were no gardaí to be found. When people asked where the gardaí were during this incident, they were told they were otherwise deployed.

I once again invoke the 2007 Garda Inspectorate report, Policing in Ireland, Looking Forward, which recommended the implementation of "a consistent rural policing model that enhances visibility and makes best use of Garda resources in serving local communities". This has never happened in reality and instead we are simply seeing cutbacks. We will also see certain rural Garda districts being amalgamated into 14 districts as part of an effort to centralise in urban areas the policing of huge swathes of rural Ireland, so clearly there is no desire for a dedicated approach to crime in rural Ireland. Like in so many other areas of Government policy, there is an expectation that it will all be okay and that rural people will either make do or move to the cities. I find that assumption insulting and naive.

The Garda Representative Association, which represents 11,300 rank and file gardaí, has said that most small stations cost ¤3,000 or less per year to run, that they deter crime and that further closures will compromise effective policing. This is a very small amount for what they deliver.

I accept there is the possibility of getting more out of current force and maximising the resources available to us but that should not be achieved by reducing the number of gardaí. It should be achieved by ensuring that the gardaí can spend the bulk of their time on the beat and, as we have noted in our amendment, it is by way of further progressing the civilianisation of administrative services to international standards that gardaí can be freed up to undertake the role they were trained for, namely, to prevent and solve crime. It can also create valuable local employment for civilians.

The Minister's claim that his plans will free up gardaí is undermined by the lack of resources available to the gardaí. We believe that in a rural setting, it is essential that gardaí have sufficient equipment and accommodation which is fit-for-purpose, including secure digital radio, satellite navigation systems, Internet and e-mail access and suitable transportation. In reality, this is often not the case and, in particular, the cars available to the gardaí mean that they are not as mobile as they should be.

I highlighted the slow response times for incidents in Galway last week and while the Minister will point to investments in Garda cars, it is worth noting the high replacement levels for Garda cars and that is barely being exceeded. It is certainly not enough to meet the gap in coverage created by the closure of these stations. The Minister is putting communities at risk by ordering these closures and I very much hope he will reconsider his position in this regard.