asked the Minister for Justice if he will increase the Garda presence on the ground in the Donabate-Portrane areas of County Dublin; if he will set up Garda clinics and a system of community policing in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Donabate-Portrane (Dublin) Policing.
75.
The detailed policing arrangements for individual areas are a matter for the Garda authorities. They inform me that the Donabate-Portrane area receives regular attention from mobile patrols performed by uniformed and plain clothes members based at Swords station and that a garda from Swords is deployed mainly on motorcycle patrols of the area. As the need arises, this member can be directed by radio to attend to local calls for urgent Garda assistance. He plays an important part in liaising with Neighbourhood Watch schemes in the Donabate-Portrane area so as to provide an effective link between the Garda Síochána and the local community.
In relation to community policing, the position is that the Garda authorities have carried out a general survey of the entire Dublin Metropolitan Area with a view to extending the community policing scheme. The Garda authorities are currently collating the results of the survey. I expect to be in a position to make an announcement in the matter in the very near future. The police needs of the Portrane-Donabate area will receive every consideration in the selection of areas for inclusion in the next expansion of the scheme.