Shannonbridge Garda Station to close

Shannonbridge Garda Station is to close, it has been announced. The station is among three in the Laois/Offaly division to be closed, along with Ballacolla and Ballianakill. And stations in Ballinahown on the Westmeath/Offaly border and in Ballyforan and Knockcroghery in South Roscommon are also among 100 stations nationwide set to close under government plans. Shannonbridge Garda Station is a one-officer station and is currently opened from 3pm to 5pm Monday to Saturday. The Garda is to be reassigned to Ferbane station. Announcing the changes, Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said: "The current challenge for An Garda Síochána is to maintain public safety in homes, on streets and in public places while operating in an extremely difficult financial environment. This requires making difficult decisions and hard strategic choices to meet public expectations. As a consequence I am required to continually assess An Garda Síochána's capability, resilience and effectiveness." Along with closing 100 stations, the Garda District and Station Consolidation Programme amalgamates 28 garda districts to 14 enlarged garda districts and realigns an additional 14 garda district boundaries around the country. There is no change to local garda districts. "An Garda Síochána has completed a comprehensive review of its district and station network. The objective of this review was to identify opportunities to introduce strategic reforms to enhance service delivery, increase efficiency and streamline practices within the organisation. The review concluded that a revised District and Station network commensurate with the organisation's resource base would best meet public demand," the Garda Commissioner stated.