Hundreds attend Stepaside protest against Garda station closure

on 03/02/2013 17:21:38

More than 1,000 people have turned out in the village of Stepaside in Dublin to protest at the closure of the local Garda station.

The station, which is in the constituency of Justice Minister Alan Shatter, is situated in an area zoned for significant population growth with an urban and rural spread.

Former assistant commissioner Martin Donnellan addressed the crowd, saying that he believed no planning had gone into the decision to close the station.

Labour Councillor Lettie McCarthy said that the closure of the station decision is a bad policing decision.

"We absolutely need to keep our police here," she said.

"What did come up at the policing forum was that people don't necessarily feel confident to go and talk to a garda just because he's in uniform. They want to know the guard, they want to trust the guard, they want a relationship built up."