‘Absolutely no plans’ to close any more garda stations – McEntee

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said that there are “absolutely no plans” to close more garda stations in rural Ireland.

Since entering the post as Minister for Justice in 2020, Helen McEntee told the Irish Farmers Journal that her objective has been to ensure that people feel safe – whether that’s in their homes or on their farms.

“I see the devastation if somebody has been broken into a number of times, where suddenly you have a need to put up cameras and people don’t feel like their farm is safe, or their business is safe, or their home is safe.

“My objective has always been in the department, irrespective of where you are, that you feel safe and that, obviously, if something happens that there’s a quick response, and that whoever’s responsible, that they can be held accountable,” she said.

The minister said that she doesn’t envisage any further garda station closures around the country, adding that the plan is to grow the current network. Almost 140 rural garda stations were closed following the last recession.

“I think you always want to get the right balance and make sure that the gardaí are in the station and there for people to be able to call into and obviously that they’re out and able to respond. And, again, the more gardaí we have, the more you’re able to get that balance right, but also making sure that the stations are fit for purpose has been a real priority.”

Funding

Since 2020, Minister McEntee said that €340m has been allocated up to 2027 to open new garda stations but also for station refurbishment.

“Some of them are extremely old and are there since the foundation of the State, and not exactly ideal working environments for people to be able to do their job.

“So that investment, I think, is absolutely key. The more you expand your garda workforce, then obviously that allows you to potentially look at opening more, if that’s what you need,” the Meath east TD said.

She said she is a firm believer that a garda presence is needed in rural communities and towns.

“It makes a big difference. I can see that where I come from myself. It’s really, really key that there’s people there and that there’s a light on and that people know that they can walk in and talk to their local garda. And it is just about getting that balance then and making sure they have the time to be able to go out and to respond and do community policing, as well as everything else.

“I absolutely believe, that we need to keep our stations open and that they’re vibrant and that they’re providing that service but also balance that with making sure that gardaí are out and about.

“What I can see clearly is that our plan is to expand, it’s to grow, it’s to open more new stations, it’s to invest in the ones we have. There are absolutely no plans to cut back.”

Supporting gardaí in the setting up of specific operations to prevent rural crime is an area the minister said she has honed in on since beginning her time in office.

Operation Thor is one example which targets organised crime gangs and repeat offenders through co-ordinated crime prevention and enforcement activity.

“What’s become more and more apparent throughout rural Ireland, and particularly because we’ve got such a fantastic roads network now, is that so much crime is connected.

“It’s organised, there’s groups moving from county to county and they’ll focus on one place and then they’ll move – there’s so much connection,” she said.

She noted that communication has improved within the force and that in years gone by, gardaí in different districts “wouldn’t have been talking to each other”.

“Now they have an operation called Operation Thor where gardaí are identifying trends and patterns, and based on that they are able to then pinpoint and arrest and bring to justice the people who are responsible.

“It’s more of that and making sure that the gardaí have the ability to work together like that, that the structure is there and that they can be able to respond as quickly as possible.”

While the current laws around trespassing are strong, the minister maintains that the challenge often is that people don’t want to come forward to the gardaí to report any encounters with people trespassing on their land.

“I think it’s really important that if there is an issue or if people feel that they can’t come forward, that they know that they can and that there’s strong laws there to protect them.

“Another thing which came to me, obviously quite early on, was around trespassing and that landowners were being held accountable for people who are hurting themselves. So, they were trespassing on their land, hurting themselves, and then the farmer or the landowner was being held responsible.

“I’ve changed the law just in the last year around duty of care, so now there’s a much greater onus on the person who’s trespassing to take responsibility.

“So unless there has been absolute negligence or you can show that there’s been negligence, or there’s been an intent by the landowner to cause harm then the onus is now on the person who has trespassed, which completely shifts the burden,” she said.

This means that a trespasser now must prove that they have permission from a landowner to enter their land.

“Hopefully we’ll start to see the benefits of that, or we see less cases coming to court or less people trying to take cases for things like that,” she said.

Last year, Minister for Rural Development Heather Humphreys increased the fine for people whose dogs are found to be worrying livestock.

The fine increased from €100 to €300 and can be handed out on the spot to owners not in control of their dogs.

However, Minister McEntee said that a €300 fine often may not tally with the costs associated with a dog attack, particularly if mortalities occur.

“It’s really devastating, for any farmer when something like this happens, and you need to be able to provide something for them, or you need to be able to provide support for them, and to try and prevent it from happening to others as well.

“I think anything like this should always be kept under review. But you know, the monetary loss to the farmer, is sometimes not quantifiable because of the knock-on impact as well.”