Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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181. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality when considering suitable stations for reopening on a pilot basis, if the Garda Commissioner and policing forum will consider the 2016 census figures which show a population increase of 2,362 in the Stepaside-Glencullen area; and when a decision on which stations have been selected will be available. [26165/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for a Partnership Government recognises that community policing is the embodiment of An Garda Síochána, providing a means of recognising that every community, both urban and rural, has its own concerns and expectations. It commits the Government to ensuring visible, effective and responsive policing in every community, including the most minimal response times possible.

Under the Programme, the Government is committed to asking the Policing Authority to oversee a review of, amongst other things, both the boundaries of Garda districts and the dispersement of Garda stations in rural areas. In addition, the Government is committed to launching a pilot scheme to reopen 6 Garda stations, both urban and rural, to determine possible positive impacts that such openings will have on criminal activity, with special emphasis on burglaries, theft and public order.

In relation to the proposed pilot scheme, I have requested the Garda Commissioner, while fully cognisant of her statutory functions in relation to the distribution of Garda resources in the State, to identify for reopening 6 stations that were closed under the Garda Síochána District and Station Rationalisation Programme. I have also asked the Authority to initiate the proposed review.