A TENDER HAS been put out to turn five Fiat vans into mobile garda offices – but the move has been criticised as ‘farcical’.

The tender from An Garda Síochána was published on 23 February and has a deadline date of 19 March at 3pm. It is for the fit-out of the five Fiat Ducato panel vans to be used as mobile garda offices, and comes following the closure of 100 garda stations around the country.

Responding to the news, Sinn Féin Justice Spokesperson, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn described the initative as “farcical” and a “sticking plaster rather than a real solution”.

Deputy Mac Lochlainn said:

This is just farcical. 143 garda stations have closed across the state. Policing is being decimated in rural communities. Garda numbers are being reduced dramatically. The numbers of garda vehicles have been reduced and many of the existing vehicles are not up to scratch due to heavy mileage.

And what is the solution? Five vans.

We do not need a sticking plaster solution. We need real leadership and a real solution to a growing crisis.

He repeated his call for Justice Minister Alan Shatter to engage with the Garda representative organisations and to hear their concerns directly and find a real solution.

Read: Closure of 95 garda stations to go ahead today>