MAYNOOTH: 5 April 2001: by Brian Byrne. The minister for justice has refused a request to upgrade the Garda Station in Maynooth (above) to 24-hour service as a District Headquarters, despite the fact that there is no North Kildare town with such a garda station service.
The minister, in a reply to a Dail Question from Emmet Stagg TD, said the extension of opening hours to the station would necessitate the employment of Garda personnell on 'indoors administrative duties' and that such personnel would be utilised more effectively in providing a 'visible Garda presence' on 'outdoor policing duties'.
He said there are currently no plans to extend the opening hours of any Garda stations in County Kildare and that Garda management is 'satisfied with current policing arrangements'.
The nearest Garda station with 24-hour operation is Lucan in County Dublin. It manages patrol car cover for the North Kildare town of Leixlip. Cars allocated to Maynooth and Celbridge are managed by Naas District Headquarters.
"There are only three existing 24-hour Garda stations in Kildare - Naas, Newbridge and Kildare - and they are all located close to each other," Deputy Stagg says. "This means that the towns of Maynooth and Celbridge, with a population of 25,000, are left with no 24-hour cover apart from patrol cars which are constantly under pressure in dealing with crime in the area, particularly at night."
He described as a 'nonsense' the satisfaction with arrangements expressed by Garda management. "This is what we would expect them to say. But on the ground the matter is entirely different, with Garda resources stretched to the limits."