Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to repeat my request for the Taoiseach to come into the House to outline his commitment for Seanad reform. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to provide that this item be taken immediately after the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Bill 2017.

The other item I want to raise is the impact on Swinford and the surrounding area of the closure in 2013 of the Swinford district headquarters of An Garda Síochána. Prior to its closure, a superintendent and ancillary staff covered a large area in east Mayo, including Charlestown, Foxford, Kiltimagh, Kilkelly, Kilmovee right down to the Mount Falcon in Ballina. It was then amalgamated into one Garda division and the headquarters was moved to Claremorris. That happened despite my Sinn Féin colleague, Senator Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, when he was a Deputy, asking a parliamentary question on the floor of the Dáil in January 2014 when the Government of the day denied that the plan was to reduce Swinford Garda station to part-time opening hours.

The Garda management called a public meeting in Swinford in summer 2014 to inform the public that Swinford Garda station would be reduced to part-time opening hours and the hours were to be between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Friday. On Saturday, it opens for one hour, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sunday it opens for another hour, from 12 noon to 1 p.m. With those opening hours, it is impossible to provide a proper policing service for the area. Even those limited hours have often been denied due to lack of personnel. It should be noted that Swinford Garda station is in close proximity to two main national routes, the N17 and N5. It is also close to Ireland West Airport Knock which caters for more than 700,000 passengers per annum. From a safety strategic viewpoint, this Garda station needs to be fully operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The bottom line is that Swinford Garda station needs to be re-established as a district headquarters. I ask that the Minister for Justice and Equality be invited to come into this House to discuss the strategic review on the reopening of Garda stations and for him to realise that it is not only Stepaside but areas such as Swinford that need a Garda station. Given its strategic location and the large area between Ballina and Claremorris that does not have a full-time Garda station, I ask that Swinford Garda station be reinstated and that the resources, both financial and personnel, which forced Garda management to make this decision now be made available.

In order for the force to be fit for purpose and meet the demands of community policing, the Government must increase investment in Garda personnel to bring the numbers back to pre-recession levels. In our pre-budget submission for last year we allocated €17.558 million towards the recruitment of new gardaí in addition to the €1.875 million for resources to tackle youth crime. It is very difficult for people in Swinford and the surrounding areas, and other areas that are affected, to stand back and see what has happened with respect to the way resources were used in Templemore and yet their area has been deprived of a Garda station with full-time opening hours. I ask that the Minister would come into the House to discuss this matter.