139 rural Garda stations to remain shut

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has ruled out reopening 139 Garda stations closed because of the economic crash.

Ms Fitzgerald, who has come under fire because of the station closures and an apparent rise in rural crime, says there is no plan to reopen the stations, which were shut in 2013.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, she said there were large parts of the country where crime rates were much lower and hence the concentration of gardaí was not required to be as great as in other areas.