Deputy Sherlock gave me notice of his intention to raise on the Adjournment the question of the closure of Garda stations in Cork East and its consequences on policing in that area.
Adjournment Debate. - Closure of County Cork Garda Stations.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to raise this very serious matter as there is now serious concern among the people of Cork East about plans to downgrade rural policing in the area which would lead to the partial closure of smaller Garda Stations. Cork East, like many other areas, has a worrying level of crime. The report of the Garda Commissioner showed that the East Cork Garda Division had a crime rate of 24.9 crimes for every one thousand of the population and this is higher than any area outside of Dublin. The East Cork Garda Division also includes urban areas of Cork city which would account for a substantial portion of this figure but crime is clearly a problem in rural areas. The general trend shown in the report was for a decline in crime in urban areas and an increase in rural parts and in the light of this it is fair to assume that most of the increase of 6.8 per cent of reported crime in Cork East took place in rural areas.
As I understand it, the Garda authorities are planning to downgrade, or partially close, a number of Garda stations in the area and centralise policing through the district headquarters of Youghal and Midleton. The northern part of the division, villages such as Killdorrery, Glanworth and so on, are being serviced under that kind of system from Fermoy and that is totally unsatisfactory. As it is, cutbacks, and restricted recruitment over a long period, have meant that gardaí are stretched to keep existing stations functioning and patrol cars on the road, never mind getting out and investigating crime.
Much crime takes place during the hours of darkness especially after 10 p.m. and a network of local stations open 24 hours a day is necessary to deal with this. Local stations can provide a sense of security for communities, especially those which have a serious crime problem. Not everyone has a telephone and public telephones are very often inaccessible or out of order. It is not too long ago since we had a series of very vicious crimes against elderly people living in isolated rural areas. The new garda arrangement in East Cork will clearly leave elderly people vulnerable to these deplorable attacks once again.
The Minister would be making a great mistake if he underestimated the strength of local feeling on this issue. Public meetings have been held in a number of areas to protest at these plans. In Ballycotton, just to give one example, more than 100 people attended a protest meeting and a petition opposing plans to downgrade Ballycotton Garda station was signed by some 900 residents.
There are, I know, always demands for additional gardaí for Dublin and other areas to deal with what everybody acknowledges to be a serious problem of urban crime, but gardaí should not be withdrawn from rural areas leaving the people there without adequate protection. One suggestion that should be examined is the greater use of civilian personnel in back-up roles so that gardaí can do what the public want them to do, and what they are trained for, prevent crime and investigate it when it occurs. The community watch programme is very worthwhile and should be encouraged. Many fully trained gardaí are occupied on administrative work or acting as drivers or mechanics, work that could be done by civilians. I appeal to the Minister, therefore, to reconsider the plans to downgrade Garda stations in East Cork, or any other area, and, rather than reducing police levels to consider ways of increasing Garda numbers in the area and, consequently, give the rural areas the attention they are entitled to.
The raising of this matter by Deputy Sherlock has given me an opportunity to put to rest the rumours and speculation which have been circulating in recent weeks about the closure and downgrading of rural Garda stations. A lot of unnecessary concern and anxiety has been caused to people residing in rural communities by unfounded rumours and speculation about plans to reduce the Garda service to rural areas in County Cork and elsewhere. There have been suggestions of widespread closures of rural Garda stations, downgrading of stations and withdrawal of garda manpower from rural areas. The Minister of Justice has been inundated with letters and telephone calls from Members of this House, community representatives and from the public generally expressing great concern about changes in rural policing as reported in the media. The Minister has been very disturbed by the irresponsible behaviour of the scaremongers who put about these stories without any regard for the frightening effects they might have on the elderly people living alone in isolated areas and people who have, in the past, been victims of crimes in rural districts.
The Minister for Justice has already issued a public statement which very clearly assures rural communities that no decision has been taken by him, and that no decision will be taken by him, to close or downgrade rural Garda stations and that no proposal or plan exists to this end. Only the Minister for Justice has the legal authority to make such a decision and he has already assured the public that he is not going down that road. I want, on his behalf, to repeat that assurance in the House tonight to ensure that there is absolutely no room for any further misunderstanding in this matter.
As well as confirming the Minister's commitment to keeping rural Garda stations open, may I also express his determination that there should be no reduction in the Garda presence in rural Ireland and that nothing should be done to interfere with the close relationship which has traditionally existed between rural communities and the Garda Síochána.
What has been happening in recent months is that Garda management, in consultation with officials from the Department of Justice and the Garda representative associations, have been engaged in a review of their current policing systems to see whether they fully meet the demands of the public or whether by reorganisation or other means they can be made more efficient, more modern and more responsive to community needs. These proposals which are still the subject of continuing detailed consultations between the Garda authorities and the representative associations would involve the allocation of additional resources by way of civilian clerical staff and extra Garda transport to the Garda districts involved.
Also envisaged is a substantial reduction in the form-filling procedures in the Force which, as is acknowledged by all concerned, consumes an excessive amount of Garda time, time that should be spent by members of the Force meeting the public, investigating and, indeed, preventing crime. These proposals are, of course, still very much in the melting pot. I cannot, therefore, set out a precise final outline for the House at this stage. However, I can assure the Deputy and all other Members of the house that when the final proposals are worked out the Minister will approve only those changes put before him which he is satisfied will result in an improved Garda service for every village and townland in east Cork and, indeed, in all other areas. I want to conclude by repeating the Minister's commitment to keeping rural Garda stations open and to maintaining an effective Garda presence in the areas served by those stations.