Vol. 452 No. 7
26 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to the large number of robberies recently in the Lusk area of Fingal; and if she will consider the early upgrading of the station to a properly staffed 24 hour Garda station in view of the vulnerability of residents in the area who fear the increasing capacity of Dublin criminals in Trinity House in particular to acquire an in-depth knowledge of this rural area. [8253/95]
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the provisional crime figures for 1994 for the Lusk area indicate a drop of over 25 per cent on the 1993 figures. The provisional figures for the first three months of 1995 indicate that the crime levels for 1995 will be similar to those in 1994. I am also informed by the Garda authorities that while the level of burglaries and robberies in 1993 and 1994 was the same, there was a 12 per cent decrease on the 1992 figures for this types of crime.
The present strength at Lusk Garda station is one sergeant and 2 gardaí. Lusk Garda Station is open between the hours of 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Monday to Saturday and 12 mid-day to 1 p.m. on Sunday. Outside of these hours the direct communication link, to the district headquarters at Balbriggan, comes into operation. A joint mobile patrol of the Lusk and Rush sub-districts is carried out at times of most need i.e. late evening-early morning. I am informed by the Garda authorities that the strength at Lusk will be kept under review. I am also informed by the Garda authorities that there are no plans at present to extend the opening hours at Lusk station. The difficulty with this is that it would absorb manpower which could be better used on outdoor patrol duties. The essential point the Garda authorities make is that it is far better to maximise the number of gardaí available for outdoor patrol and crime duties rather than tie up manpower indoors on administrative work.
