Reopening Garda stations
Eugene Murphy asks about the programme for Government commitment to reopen six Garda stations, particularly Tarmonbarry, and raises equality with Stepaside. The Taoiseach says the scheme is a pilot to test crime impacts and that decisions on which stations open are operational matters for the Garda authorities and Commissioner.
Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Taoiseach. Tá súil agam go mbeidh sé ag obair go crua ar son daoine na tíre seo. I wish to refer to the clear commitment in the programme for Government to reopen six Garda stations. It is said that two out of three is not bad but one out of six is very poor. The Taoiseach should not get me wrong in terms of what I will say next. I love my capital city. I love Dublin and I have lots of friends here, but the one thing I want for my people in Roscommon is equality with Stepaside. Therefore, I ask the Taoiseach to reopen the Garda station in Tarmonbarry, County Roscommon. It should never have been closed. The village is located on the River Shannon and it is on a national primary route. The area has had a significant population increase of 30% in the past 15 years. The Garda station should be reopened. When will that happen? It is included in the commitments as one of the six pilot Garda stations to be reopened.
Comment on this
The commitment was to open six Garda stations in urban and rural areas as part of a pilot scheme to see whether the reopening of the stations has an impact on crime levels in those areas. However, the Government is not going to make a decision on which ones are opened and which are not.