Newly elected Green Party T.D. for Dublin Rathdown Catherine Martin has today welcomed the call by the vice-president of the Association of Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), Antoinette Cunningham to reopen Stepaside Garda Station.

Deputy Martin said:

“In the two years since Stepaside Garda Station closed burglaries in the area have soared by 76% and of huge concern is the increasingly violent nature of burglaries and armed raids in our community.
There is no denying that the station’s very presence was a deterrent to the crime that our community has been suffering ever since its closure.

Not only does the station need to be reopened but there needs to be investment in crime prevention services.We need to support our Gardai in the invaluable work that they do. We need more Gardaí on the streets, we need more high speed vehicles for our Gardai and we need cameras at crucial escape routes at  the M50 and Luas lines.

People must come first and to read about a recovery in our economy is not worth the paper it is written on whilst our community is daily living in fear and suffering unnecessarily.

As a newly elected T.D. to Dáil Éireann, I fully intend to speak up for the reopening of Stepaside Garda Station as a matter of urgency.”