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THE GOVERNMENT HAS spent €846,560 to date maintaining closed Garda stations throughout the country.
That works out at an average of €7,000 per property per year. Some 139 Garda stations have closed since 2011, and a number have since been sold.
Direct savings of €556,000 per year have been made through the closure of the stations under the Garda District and Station Rationalisation Programme.
The figures were released in response to parliamentary questions asked by Fianna Fáil TD Colm Keaveney.
Simon Harris, junior minister at the Office of Public Works, wrote to Keaveney telling him it has cost about €7,000 per station per year to cover private security, pest control and other services.
Harris said income generated from the sale of closed Garda stations to date is approximately €2.5 million.
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald acknowledged that the savings of €556,000 per year are “modest”.
However, she noted: “It is important to recall that the primary objective of the programme was to identify opportunities to introduce strategic reforms to enhance service delivery, increase efficiency and streamline practices within An Garda Síochána.”
Fitzgerald said Garda management had concluded that “resources could be better deployed and more effectively used on the front line” if certain stations, many of which were only open part-time and manned by a single Garda, were closed.
She said the programme “supports the provision of a modern 21st century policing service for both urban and rural areas”.
As a result of the programme, communities have benefited from increased Garda visibility and increased patrolling hours which has enabled An Garda Síochána to deliver an improved policing service to the public.
Fitzgerald said that since 2012 the government has invested over €34 million in new Garda vehicles, with over 640 new vehicles coming on stream in 2015. An additional €46 million has been allocated for new Garda vehicles from 2016-2021.
She noted that 600 new gardaí will be recruited next year, following the recruitment of 550 in 2015.
Crime
Earlier this month, a Garda Inspectorate report criticised the lack of community gardaí, saying too many officers are sitting behind desks.
Changing Policing in Ireland found that around 1,500 extra gardaí could be put on the streets if the force made better use of officers.
Keaveney said the government has “changed the focus” of the supposed goal of the closures from a cost-saving measure to that of better utilising officers.
Many people link the closure of Garda stations, particularly in rural areas, to a rise in crimes such as burglaries – with almost 2,000 extra burglary offences taking place in the first nine months of 2015.
Figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) earlier this month show that 28,407 burglaries and related offences were committed in the first nine months of this year, a 6% increase on the 26,747 recorded during the same period in 2014.
‘Was it worth it?’
Keaveney said the government needs to ask itself “Was it worth it?” to close the stations.
He said many communities have lost peace of mind as a result.
The Galway East TD said that rural areas in particular are being targeted by criminal gangs using sophisticated technology to carry out robberies.
“Preventing crime is what rural Garda stations were about.
“There is a social, moral, political and economic case to review the decision of closing stations.”
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Anyone with a bit of common sense knows this was not worth it. The savings amount to almost nothing and could never offset the increased crime people have to deal with.
I think they’ll be forced to reopen some of them by election time. Too much pressure will mount from rural people on it.
They made what in the big scheme of things very minor savings and have brought terror and fear into citizens lives especially rural citizens. The irony of hiring private security to protect closed police stations and not our citizens.
I’d like to know how much income is made from closed stations that have masts used by phone companies…that is not mentioned and could be one of the reasons security is needed, such income may have covered some of the cost of actually keeping the station opened.
European measures must be maintained. FG/LAB German servants.. Fu(k the Paupers of Ireland ..
Yet one more bad decision forced upon us by this “government”!
I hope to government , it was worth it. Because to rural Ireland . it wasn’t. They saved less than their expenses .
Just think of how much money we will save once they do away with Irish Water. How many billions did they sink into that money pit this year alone?
It was never about savings at all. It was all about having enough bodies to police the installation of water meters, to provide the manpower to guard the elite in Leinster house from the nasty plebs. To have the manpower needed rural stations had to be closed. Guarding Dennis’s water meter installers is much more important than safeguarding the ordinary rural public from the gangs of travelling thieves.
Dave. You seriously don’t believe what you just typed do you?
Well, lets see Donna Moss, when in the history of the state have so many Gardai appeared on the streets of Dublin? There are none available to answer calls from the general public, no Gardai to look after the rural population. When have you seen before, under any other government, the droves of Gardai behind barriers (supplied by Dennis, what a surprise) to guard the government? Where do you think they came from?
Do you actually believe what you wrote in an attempt to justify the actions of this government?
Dave. They came from guards who were on rest days and got overtime. I’m not a big fan of this government but some station closures were justified. I know it doesent seem like that to the general public but policing has changed and a lone guard sitting in a rural station is over.
Donna, you seriously dont believe what you just typed, do you?
Worth remembering not just rural Ireland but other areas. There are larger populations in Sandyford and Stepaside than many towns in Ireland. The Garda station is closed in stepaside and house burglary has gone through the roof. Having a car drive around on occasion from Dundrum is useless if you actually need them in an emergency.
Hare brain scheme to save a paltry amount. All in keeping with government’s tacit policy of closing down large sections of Ireland and moving all economic activity into the greater Dublin housing crisis region. Those who staged a rebellion in 1916 didn’t do it for the creation of a city state.
Why didn’t Colm Keavney try & do something when he was in Labour not so long ago? He’s a typical spoofer. Bails when things get tough. But To FF? Jaysus things must be tough when he leaves one sinking ship for another.
Some stations were open an hour a day. People need to look at the bigger picture. Having a guard sit in a rural station all day just to sign a form is not good practice.
What’s the bigger picture Donna? Having a presense is better than having none. It’s a fact . crime went up instead when these stations closed. Maybe they closed them so the likes of the tanaiste could hand out payrises above the cap of a €1000 a week to an advisor , who probably also just sits signing things.
There was no presence because the guard worked out of the nearest town. These stations closed at night so there was no guard.
Seriously ? You haven’t a clue. The gardai also walked the beat in these areas. My own village as an example. They gardai was either in the station for not 1 hour but many hours. Or he was out and about. You really are clueless on what actually was lost.
A garda walking the beat in rural ireland lol That would be something. It’s a struggle to get some of them on the beat in towns. sorry guys !!
You really are deluded? That was before government decided to slash and burn and close stations. Your obviously someone toeing a line about what to say so I will bid you goodbye . waste of time talking to someone who hasn’t a clue , what they are going on about but just says something for a sound bite.
Donna Moss, another made up account for the purposes of shilling on behalf of FG. How come none of you government shills ever have the balls to post your support under your real names or profiles? You rarely, if at all, see a real name or account supporting FG. It’s casts a huge doubt on the 30% poll support trumpeted in the press. The polls are made up from the same false nameless shills.
Dave you are far off the mark there. FG are the reason my pay has decreased.
10-15 homes could have been built for the homeless with this money crazy.
And maybe I’m looking at it from the other side of the coin. Don’t assume I’m a FG fan.
Donna you missed the point, having these stations open was a deterrent, it doesn’t take a criminal mastermind to figure out that Garda response time has increased.
Soooo…. Labour?
Not much future planning in dept of Justice. I would expect it would start recruiting Syrians to start Garda training now and more Chinese as that is needed as well as doubling the number of Gardai as there is a 100% tolerance for anti social behaviour. The GAA seem to be subcontracted to source young men and women that suit the Irish speaking gang in the Department of Justice.
have your say