Country does not need 703 Garda stations, says Shatter

Communities have been put on alert after the Government announced plans for a further raft of Garda station closures next year.

The closures will be in addition to the 39 stations due to be closed this year.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter made the announcement in his address to the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) in Wexford.

“I expect that there will be further closures of Garda stations in 2013 as part of a process of ensuring that resources are used wisely and that members are released for frontline duties,” he said.

He rejected comments from AGSI president Padraic Dolan, who slammed the decision to close the 39 stations this year.

“I simply cannot understand this being characterised as ‘disgraceful’. Can anyone plausibly argue that we absolutely need 703 Garda stations in such a small country?”

He added: “Of course I understand local attachment to Garda stations, but what matters for communities is making the best use of Garda resources so that the best possible service is provided within the available resources.”

Mr Shatter said that he “largely agreed” with calls made at the conference for tighter controls of released sex offenders.

Gardaí want released sex offenders to register with their local stations in person and supply officers with photographs, which is currently not the case.

Mr Shatter said he was publishing new sex offender legislation to address these and other issues before the Christmas recess.

The minister rejected AGSI calls for a public inquiry into the transfer of garda killer Martin McDermott to an open prison and his subsequent escape.

He said he did not believe a public inquiry was needed and that a report had already been published.

“We’ve fully addressed the issue and I hope it would be appreciated we’ve addressed it in such a way that a similar error never occurs in the future.”

Mr Shatter also said the Garda transport fleet was not grinding to a halt, as claimed by AGSI. “We should keep this in perspective. In 2007 there were just over 2,200 cars. There are now just over 2,600 cars. The reality is that there are now more Garda cars than at the height of the boom.”

He said 40 cars were coming on stream this year.

Meanwhile, he declined to comment on the investigations set up in the aftermath of the Mahon Tribunal report. “I don’t want to comment on that. The Mahon Tribunal report went to the Garda Commissioner. I think some aspects of the report are going to be looked at by the Garda Ombudsman Commission. I don’t want to in anyway pre-empt that work that’s being done.”

Regarding the Moriarty Report, which was published a year ago, Mr Shatter said it was still being considered by the gardaí.

He also described as “simplistic and inaccurate” an assessment by the US state department which warned its citizens travelling to Ireland of the effectiveness of gardaí and their morale.