Mary Coughlan
Question:13 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for Justice if she has satisfied herself with the level of funding being provided for transport in rural district Garda divisions. [16526/95]
Written Answers. - Garda Transport Funding.
The allocation of Garda personnel and resources to individual areas is a matter for the Garda authorities.
Almost £3.9 million was spent on the purchase of new vehicles for the Garda Síochána last year. This enabled the Garda authorities to allocate 132 new vehicles to stations in the DMA, 102 to stations in the cities of Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway and 116 to rural stations. Many of the vehicles assigned to cities outside the DMA are also used for patrolling in rural areas adjacent to these cities.
It is expected that approximately £4.5 million will be spent on purchasing new vehicles this year. This will enable the Garda to allocate more vehicles than last year to both urban and rural areas.
The Garda authorities have informed me that they are satisfied that the level of funding provided for transport purchases is adequate to meet their requirements.