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Garda Station Closures

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 December 2013

Wednesday, 18 December 2013

Questions (176)

Pádraig MacLochlainn

Question:

176. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on whether the closure of Garda stations and the failure of his Department to allocate proper resources for the upgrading of the Garda motor vehicle pool has led to a significant increase in criminal activity in the midlands; if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of Garda stations that have closed in County Westmeath from 2008 until 2012-13; and the instances of robberies and burglary that have been reported to An Garda Síochána in County Westmeath from 2008 until 2012-13. [54598/13]

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Written answers

The Deputy will be aware that the management and allocation of all Garda resources is a matter for the Commissioner and one in which I have no function. These allocations are continually monitored to ensure that the best possible service is provided across all communities.

In developing his policing plan for 2013, the Commissioner determined that the Garda stations in Ballinahowan, Castletowngeoghegan, Finea and Rathowen in County Westmeath should be closed. These stations were closed on 31st January 2013 and are the only Garda stations in Westmeath that have been closed since 2008. The closure of these and other Garda Stations around the country has resulted in an additional 61,000 patrolling hours being made available to the communities right across the country.

In addition to this, I recently secured a further €9m for investment in the Garda fleet, made up of an additional €5m this year and a further €4m in 2014. I am informed that as a result of this ongoing investment, a total of 438 new vehicles have either been or will be provided to the Garda Síochána in the course of 2013. This brings to €18m the total amount spent on the Garda fleet for the three years 2012 to 2014 and represents a very considerable financial investment in Garda transport, particularly at a time when the level of funding available across the public sector is severely limited.

I would draw the Deputy's attention to the official recorded crime statistics, published by the Central Statistics Office and which are available on their web site, which show reductions in 12 out of the 14 categories for which figures are given in the twelve months ending 30 June 2013. I have requested the CSO to provide the requested statistics directly to the Deputy.

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