Minister for Justice Alan Shatter’s announcement that seven Garda Stations will close in Cork City,

Cllr  Kennenth O’Flynn has labeled the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter’s announcement that seven Garda Stations will close in Cork City, along with a reduction in opening hours of six other stations across the city, as ‘One of most cowardly and cynical attacks that he has undertaken since he took office’.

The Stations to close under the proposed Garda District and Station Consolidation Programme are in the Mallow Road, McCurtain Street, Barrack Street, Rathduff, Ballinspittle, Adrigole, and Meelin.

Councillor O’Flynn stated that ‘The Minister has attempted to use the cover of the budget to continue his slash and burn policy of the Garda Siochána and in the meantime our problems with crime in the city continue to get worse and worse. There is almost no words to describe the type of cynicism that is at play here.  In the hope that the budget would deflect attention away from these cuts the Minister announced on the morning of budget day one of the most significant reductions in Garda resources that will see a total of one hundred Garda Stations closed from the first six months of next year. These reductions will not go unnoticed in the areas affected across the Northside and indeed the whole of the city.’    

‘Minister Shatter continues to use the words consolidation and rationalisation to describe these measures as the best way of tackling crime. The reality is that a total of 27 permanent Garda personal will be removed from the areas announced and in doing so will take a vital physical police presence away that is crucial to reducing crime in the city ’

‘A further measure to be introduced will see six Garda Stations have their opening hours radically reduced. These include, Mayfield, Gurranabraher, Glanmire, Bridewell, Watercourse Road, and Togher.  Unfortunately this means that vulnerable people in these areas will not have a Garda Station open after 9pm at night. There is very piece of mind for those who stay awake fearful that they will again be on the end of anti social behavior.’

‘The Minster is taking the wrong approach to achieving the savings necessary in his department and instead the Government should be looking at the wider public sector pay and pensions bill  from high earning public servants to the deficit. Fianna Fail has instead called on the Minister to lift the ban on Garda recruitment.’