Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans for the future of a Garda station (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48857/12]

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans for the future of Garda stations in County Offaly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48858/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 144 and 145 together.

Any proposals for the closure of Garda stations must be contained in the annual Policing Plan prepared by the Commissioner and submitted to the Minister for Justice and Equality. While the policing plan for 2013 has not yet been finalised, it will be laid before the House in due course. Until then it would be premature to speculate on what it might contain. In preparing the policing plan, the Garda Commissioner reviews all aspects of the Garda Síochána's policing model, including the deployment of personnel, the utilisation of modern technologies and the operation of Garda Districts and Stations, in terms of resource allocation, the opening hours and possible closures. In addition, all Divisional Officers are asked to assess the level of activity in each Garda Station in their area, including the ones referred to by the Deputy. It must be stressed that the key objective of the review is to promote the more efficient and effective deployment of resources rather than secure modest cash savings so that as many Gardaí as possible are deployed on front line operational duty rather than based in Garda Stations.