Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 March 2017
12. Deputy Mary Butler asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if any of the Garda stations closed in County Waterford in 2012 and 2013 are included in the six stations being examined for reopening under the pilot programme. [15761/17]
View answerThe Deputy will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is primarily responsible for the effective and efficient use of the resources available to her, including in relation to Garda stations.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Síochána district and station rationalisation programme, which we have just been discussing, gave rise to the closure in 2012 and 2013 of 139 Garda stations, including Garda stations at Ballyduff and Stradbally in County Waterford, following the completion by An Garda Síochána of a comprehensive review of its district and station network. That review was undertaken with the objective of identifying opportunities to introduce strategic reforms to enhance service delivery, increase efficiency and streamline practices within the organisation. I have been advised by the Garda authorities that the closures have allowed front-line gardaí to be managed and deployed with greater mobility, greater flexibility and in a more focused fashion, particularly with regard to targeted police operations.
The programme for Government commits the Government to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and to deter crime.
A cornerstone of this commitment is the recruitment plan. The Deputy was here and heard what I had to say. I have asked the Garda Commissioner, while fully cognisant of her statutory functions, to identify six stations for reopening on a pilot basis to determine possible positive impacts that such openings will have on criminal activity, with special emphasis on burglary, theft and public order. The pilot will feed into that wider review by the Garda Síochána Inspectorate of the dispersal and use of all resources available to the Garda because we have to look at that and decide how they can best be managed. I understand that work is continuing to identify the six stations for inclusion in the pilot and that consultations have taken place with the relevant stakeholders, including the Policing Authority, and in this context I am sure the Deputy would agree that a comprehensive and evidence-based analysis should be carried out, taking account of all of the relevant factors, before a final decision is made in respect of the stations to be reopened by the Commissioner. I expect to receive that report in May and so I cannot give the Deputy detail about her own area. I will be in a position to announce whatever the objective decision is at that time.
I thank the Tánaiste. I appreciate her answer and I welcome the fact that we will have a decision on the Garda stations in May. In my area of Portlaw in County Waterford seven Garda stations in the area close to the Comeragh Mountains closed and we were centralised into Kilmacthomas. Two years ago we had five gardaí and one sergeant, but we now have ten gardaí and one sergeant. I do appreciate that, and we are all very much involved in the text alert system. At the same time, there are 2,000 residents in Portlaw, and not having a Garda station there is a huge loss. I would be hopeful that Waterford might be considered.
Clearly this is a decision that will be made by An Garda Síochána. I have no doubt that the needs of a whole variety of areas will have to be taken into account, but equally when the Inspectorate is looking at what areas ought to have resources, they will be taking into account precisely the points the Deputy has made. They will be taking account of the changing environment in rural areas as we develop rural and suburban areas. The views of local communities and the local policing level will be taken into account, including what Garda facilities are in an area and the Garda Reserve. It is very important that this work is done and it will take into account what the Inspectorate has recommended as well in terms of how police should be allocated around the country. I will have the first report in May, but there is that wider review going on which should address the type of issues that quite a number of Deputies have raised as well the needs of various areas. The more information that is available centrally the better. Local police obviously have obligations to report the levels of crime in their area and the needs of their area and deployment should be made based on that.
I thank the Minister and accept her answer.
