Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-21
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Séamus McGrath (FF), Cork South-Central

I raise the importance of having our Garda stations across the country open and accessible to the public. I acknowledge the outstanding work the Minister is doing in relation to garda recruitment and retention. Increasing garda visibility is critically important but so is access to Garda stations across our communities. I represent Cork South-Central, as the Minister knows, and the only Garda station in that five-seat constituency that is open reliable hours is the district headquarters in Togher. I know he visited there recently. We have urban areas with Garda stations located in them, but they are not open in a reliable way to the public. I think the Minister will agree that members of the public want to be able to walk into a Garda station, meet a garda, raise an issue with them and discuss a local issue of concern with them. Suggesting that they should call 999 to contact An Garda Síochána is not acceptable and it is removing gardaí from front-line policing and dealing with the community face to face. I ask the Minister to redouble his efforts in consultation with the Garda Commissioner to ensure that our Garda stations are open better and more reliable hours for the public.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-31T01:00:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-21