Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of patrol cars currently available to each of the Garda districts within County Tipperary; the Garda station they are based; the number of extra patrol cars that will be made available to each of the Garda districts within County Tipperary following the closure of five Garda stations in County Tipperary; the Garda stations these extra patrol cars will be based; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6527/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Decisions in relation to the provision and deployment of Garda transport are matters for the Garda Commissioner. Responsibility for the efficient deployment of official Garda vehicles in each Division is assigned to the Divisional Officer, who may allocate vehicles between stations, as required by operational circumstances.

The Deputy will appreciate that a degree of flexibility in allocating and re-allocating vehicles among stations, so as to best match the allocation of resources with policing priorities, is essential to the efficient management of the Garda fleet. As a consequence it is not practicable to provide a breakdown of Garda vehicles by individual station.

However, I am informed by the Garda authorities that there are currently 31 patrol vehicles allocated to the Tipperary Division and a breakdown by District is provided in the following table:

The Deputy will be aware that an additional 213 new vehicles were purchased in 2012 on foot of an investment of €4 million. These new vehicles are currently being rolled out to Garda Divisions throughout the country and I am informed by the Garda authorities that 25 of the vehicles are due to be allocated to the South Eastern Region, which includes the Tipperary Division.

In addition, a further provision of €5 million has been made available for the purchase and fit-out of Garda transport in 2013. This represents a very considerable financial investment in Garda transport, particularly at a time when the level of funding available across the public sector is severely limited. It is a clear indication of my commitment to ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, An Garda Síochána are provided with sufficient resources to enable them to provide an effective and efficient policing service.