Justice minister declines to give ‘diktats’ on Cork garda station mergers

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan has said he does not want to issue “operational diktats” to the Garda Commissioner, after a Cork TD asked him to intervene on the issue of city garda stations being amalgamated.

In the Dáil, Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the minister to prevent the mergers.

“The minister will be aware that, in April, there was a lot of concern in the Cork city area about the amalgamation of units across four garda stations into two units — in Carrigaline and Douglas, and Bishopstown and Ballincollig,” said Mr Ó Laoghaire.

“I know the minister is going to tell me it is the Garda Commissioner who decides where garda resources go, but I know he was briefed on this when he visited Cork in April."

Not ideal

“Does he at least agree that it is not an ideal situation to see two different garda stations being served by the same unit, and that it would be a good use of additional resources to ensure every station — including those in Carrigaline, Ballincollig, Bishopstown, and Douglas — has a unit of their own, ensuring those big areas of population, busy areas with young populations, have a full-time unit monitoring crime in the area?”

“Subsequently, and after many years of campaigning on behalf of the people of Cork … I am glad to see for the first time in a long time a decent allocation of gardaí in Cork,” he said.

Some 20 gardaí were allocated to Cork city in the most recent graduation of trainees.

Great work

Mr O’Callaghan said he was in Cork before the summer, and had seen “the great work that is done by members of An Garda Síochána in the Cork area”.

“I am aware of the issue in respect of units. I hope the deputy will forgive me if I do not throw myself into the middle of it. It is an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner,” he said.

“The last thing I want to do, as minister for justice, is to start issuing operational diktats to a commissioner. He is the expert on how to run An Garda Síochána,” said Mr O’Callaghan.

“I set the policy, but it is up to him and senior management to dictate what happens in respect of whether units are available to each area or not.”