James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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23. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to review Garda district boundaries in the Wexford division; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7634/17]

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

With this in mind, I can confirm that I have asked the Policing Authority to oversee a review of, among other things, the dispersal of Garda stations in rural areas. I understand that the Authority has, in accordance with section 117(2) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, formally requested the Garda Síochána Inspectorate to examine the dispersal and use of resources available to the Garda Síochána in the delivery of policing services to local communities and to make recommendations to provide a more effective, visible and responsive policing service. The Authority has informed the Inspectorate that the review should take account of:

- the changing environments in rural, developing urban and suburban areas;

- the views of local communities;

- the allocation to and deployment of Garda resources at the local policing level, including the use of the Garda Reserve, Garda facilities and Garda equipment; and

- relevant recommendations made in previous Inspectorate reports.

The Deputy will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is primarily responsible for the effective and efficient use of the resources available to her. This includes responsibility for the formulation of proposals in relation to the geographical boundaries of Garda districts and the opening and closing of Garda Stations, taking into account crime trends and policing priorities, so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources.

The Deputy will also be aware that 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 6 stations for reopening on a pilot basis in line with the commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government. This pilot scheme is intended to feed into the wider review being overseen by the Policing Authority.