Fears mount of garda station closures in Co Limerick – Collins

Fears are mounting of significant garda cutbacks in Co Limerick after the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter flatly refused to rule out the closure of garda stations in Limerick. Answering questions from Limerick Fianna Fáil TD Niall Collins, Minister Shatter indicated that he is considering closing some garda stations and cutting back on the opening hours of others.

“I asked the Minister for Justice a straight question about the future of Garda stations in Co Limerick.  There is genuine concern about the possible closure of Garda stations across the county and the impact this would have on our communities,” said Deputy Collins.

“In his response he said that the Garda Commissioner is carrying out a review of resources and “Clearly, an examination of the opening hours and in some cases the viability of Garda stations will form part of this review….”- Minister for Justice and Defence, Alan Shatter TD, 18 October 2011.

“The Minister’s vague response will only heighten fears of impending closures, particularly in rural areas of the Mid West. I accept the need to reduce costs within An Garda Síochána in order to bring down public spending. However, there is away to do this without targeting rural communities and wiping out their garda resources. In difficult economic times, unless policing policy is managed correctly, crimes rates go up.  One of the most basic requirements of a sensible policy is the requirement to maintain a strong Garda presence in the community, particularly in isolated rural areas and areas where crime rates are high.

“Minister Shatter also made reference in his reply to me that the Commissioner “may have to consider in appropriate cases whether a better policing service could be delivered to a local community by having Gardaí out on patrol instead of in a station.”  Having Gardaí based out of a station miles from towns and communities is not appropriate and the Minister should be looking at more civilian support for Gardaí in order to free-up officers from station duty to ensure a greater community presence,” concluded Deputy Collins.