Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality in view of the information that is now coming through that five vans are proposed to replace the 100 Garda Stations that have recently closed and it is believed that these vans are going to be mobile Garda offices and they will be assigned to areas where Garda stations have closed, the way he expects five vans to replace 100 Garda stations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9404/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The decision to close 100 Garda stations in 2013 was the result of a comprehensive operational assessment carried out by the Garda Commissioner over a 12-month period and proposed in the Commissioner's Policing Plan for 2013 which I laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Policing Plan contained the Commissioner's proposals for the continued reorganisation and consolidation of the Garda station network.

The objective of modernising and re-calibrating the station network is to ensure that Garda resources are used in the best and most efficient way possible, in both rural and urban areas, to the benefit of communities throughout the country. In particular, it is of the utmost importance to maximise the time that our well-trained and highly skilled Gardaí spend on front-line duties. This involves the deployment of Garda resources to best advantage and the Garda Commissioner has indicated that the freeing-up of Garda personnel from desk duties arising from the implementation of the 2013 Policing Plan will result in an additional 61,000 operational policing hours in 2013.

It is, of course, a matter for the Commissioner to put the necessary policing measures in place to take account of the closure of the stations in question. One of the elements involved is that the Garda authorities are in the process of providing a number of mobile offices which will assist members of the public to conduct their business and, also, to interact with Garda personnel. However, the Deputy will appreciate that this is only a small portion of the relevant Garda operation and I understand from the Garda authorities that where stations have been closed in 2013 a comprehensive set of revised structures has been put in place. In this context, the Garda authorities have emphasised that the Force will continue to support the relevant communities through the clustering of services at policing hubs. This centralisation facilitates enhanced patrolling arrangements which, in turn, provide increased Garda visibility as well as maintaining existing Garda links with communities.