‘Obvious’ Stepaside would be picked to reopen, says garda

The garda in charge of deciding which stations should reopen has revealed he was asked by the former Garda commissioner for a report shortly before Stepaside in south Dublin was chosen.

Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll said it was “obvious” Stepaside would be picked from criteria given to him by the Government and Department of Justice.

Controversy has erupted over the decision to reopen Stepaside over the other 139 stations closed during the recession. The station is in the south Dublin constituency of Transport Minister Shane Ross, who denies Taoiseach Leo Varadkar promised him he would get its reopening “over the line”.