Gardaí to meet with public over planned station closures

Top-ranking gardaí in Cork are moving to calm the fears of communities over the planned closures of four garda stations in the city and county by holding a series of public meetings.

Meetings will be held in Grenagh Community Hall near Blarney tomorrow night and gardaí will be available to talk to concerned members of the public at Blackpool shopping centre from 12pm to 4pm on Friday. Residents from the Barrack St area can attend a meeting at UCC next Wednesday.

Chief Superintendent Michael Finn said that the station closures will not mean that there are fewer gardaí working in the city and rather that it was his “priority” to have police out in communities.

Stations at MacCurtain St and Barrack St in the city centre and on the Mallow Rd and at Rathduff on the outskirts of the city are due to close at the end of this month. The MacCurtain St station had not been operational for the past 10 years.

Chief Supt Finn blamed the closures on the economic downturn: “Like every other part of the public service, An Garda Síochána has had to find savings and provide a service with greater efficiencies.”

The moves are part of a planned 100 station closures around the country under the Garda Síochána Policing Plan 2013.

Supt Barry McPolin from Anglesea St station said the Barrack St community will not suffer from the local station closure. “It is important to emphasise that gardaí from Barrack St Garda Station will continue to patrol the Barrack St/UCC area,” he said.