Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today to discuss this very important issue with regard to the reopening of Garda stations. I particularly want to raise with her the issue of Rush Garda station, which is located in north County Dublin. Rush Garda station closed down in 2012 under the last Government. I call on the Minster of State to strongly consider Rush for inclusion in the pilot scheme to reopen six Garda stations, which is imminent.

The closure has left a serious void in the policing of north County Dublin. When it was closed in 2012, we were reassured that a 24-hour service would be provided in the nearby Lusk Garda station, but this never occurred. In fact, the hours in Lusk Garda station have since been reduced. As I said, this has left a very big void in the policing of north County Dublin. Fingal is the fastest-growing county in Ireland. The population of Rush itself is 10,000 and Lusk has almost 10,000. We are being policed from Balbriggan Garda station, which is the nearest 24-hour Garda station. That is over 14 km from Rush and has a population itself of 26,000. That station is seriously overstretched and it is not able to provide an adequate service to the people in Rush in particular, as well as in nearby Lusk.

Unfortunately, we have seen an escalation in both violent and serious crime in north County Dublin as well as anti-social behaviour, particularly in or around the Rush area. I believe there is a strong correlation between the lack of a Garda service in the town and this increase in crime. I come from a Garda family myself. I am very well aware of the vital service community gardaí provide to the community and the impact that visibility of gardaí on the streets of a town can have on the level of both serious crime and anti-social behaviour in the area.

As per the programme for Government, there is a commitment to review the Garda station closures, which occurred during the lifetime of the last Government. More than 100 Garda stations were closed nationwide. This review is currently being undertaken and is due to report in May. As I mentioned, there was a commitment in the programme for Government that six Garda stations would be opened on a pilot scheme basis. Recent media reports have suggested that the Minister, Deputy Shane Ross, has already secured the reopening of the Stepaside Garda station, which is in his own constituency. According to media reports, he is so confident of this that he already has newsletters ready to be distributed around the constituency.

I know that the Minister of State is not the direct line Minister of State but I appeal to her to pass on the message to the Minister for Justice and Equality to include Rush in this pilot scheme. We do not have a senior Cabinet Minister or any Minister in north County Dublin. I feel therefore that we are going to get left behind and that south County Dublin will benefit because it has a Minister. I appeal to the Minister of State on the basis that Rush is a large and growing urban area with a surrounding rural hinterland. As I said, it is among the fastest-growing areas within the fastest growing constituency and county in Ireland. Therefore, we really need the reopening of Rush Garda station. I appeal to the Minister of State to consider Rush Garda station in the pilot scheme.