Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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79. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the hours Glanmire Garda station is meant to be open; if this station has regularly opened these hours; the number of gardaí attached to that station; the number of gardaí from that station on maternity leave and the number of those who have been replaced; the number of days that the station has opened to date in 2017; and her plans to ensure Glanmire is provided with a police service based out of the station. [7880/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for Garda station opening hours and the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and I, as Minister, have no direct role in these matters.

Glanmire Garda station is part of the Cork City Division and I am informed by the Commissioner that on 31 December 2016, the latest date for which figures are readily available, Cork City Division had a total strength of 644 members of which 19 were deployed to the station. There are also 48 Garda Reserves and 58 civilians attached to the Cork City Division. When appropriate, the work of local Gardaí is supported by a number of Garda national units such as the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau. I am further advised that the information requested in respect of members on maternity leave is operationally sensitive and cannot be disclosed for security reasons.

The station is, I understand, open to members of the public between 12pm and 6pm from Monday to Saturday and between 1pm and 2pm on Sundays and bank holidays. I am informed that the specific information in relation to the dates which the station was open to the public in 2017 are not readily available and would require a disproportionate amount of Garda time and resources to collate. In circumstances when the station is not open to members of the public, I am informed that callers are advised to contact the District Headquarters at Mayfield Garda station, which is located approximately 4 km from Glanmire station and is open on a 24 hour basis. Telephone calls to the station are also automatically diverted to Mayfield in these circumstances.

Garda management keeps the distribution of Garda resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the optimum use is made of these resources and that the best possible Garda service is provided to communities. In this context, a distribution model is used which takes into account all relevant factors including population, crime trends and the policing needs of each individual Garda Division.