Reopening Stepaside not a priority for senior garda

Stepaside Garda Station is one of the six recommended for re-opening

The officer in charge of policing Dublin has told the Public Accounts Committee that if he got more gardaí today he would not prioritise sending them to Stepaside.

The Dublin station is one of six stations garda authorities have recommended for reopening.

The committee heard that Stepaside was recommended for reopening based on criteria given to An Garda Síochána by the Government and that it was Government policy that six stations be reopened on a pilot basis.

Assistant Commissioner Pat Leahy said that purely based on policing, he would send gardaí to Ballyfermot, Ronanstown and the north and south inner city before Stepaside.

Assistant Commisioner Pat Leahy

Mr Leahy said in terms of resource allocation Stepaside would not be his number one priority.

Sinn Féin PAC member David Cullinane told the senior gardaí at the hearing that they could have changed the criteria and if that had been done, it probably would have ended up with a different outcome.

Earlier, the PAC heard that gardaí had sent final recommendations to the Government on which six garda stations were to be re-opened.

The final report was approved by the Acting Garda Commissioner and forwarded to the Department of Justice this week, the PAC heard.

Acting Garda Commissioner Dónall Ó Cualáin said stations at Ballinspittle in Cork, Bawnboy in Cavan, Donard in Wicklow, Leighlinbridge in Carlow, Rush and Stepaside in Dublin have been selected to reopen following the closure of 139 stations during the recession.

Mr Ó Cualáin told the PAC: "A station close to the border, two in Dublin - but at either end of the county, one of them large and the other smaller, another in the most southerly part of west Cork, along with a spread across five of the six Garda regions reflects consideration given to the criteria provided to us.

"Following this, An Garda Síochána will liaise with the Office of Public Works to determine what remedial works need to be done at each station and the length of time and the associated costs of the works.

Acting Garda Commissioner Dónall Ó Cualáin

"Furthermore, an examination of the resources required will be undertaken which will examine the numbers of staff, equipment, vehicles and ICT infrastructure required to determine in what order these stations are opened and when they are opened."

Department of Justice Secretary General Noel Waters confirmed that his department received notifications of the reopenings and said the matter will now be brought to the attention of Government.