Significant reforms of the Garda Síochána, including greater centralisation and sharp cuts in station opening hours, have been proposed by a top-level review group, The Irish Times has learned.
The Implementation Steering Group's Report to Government on the Review of Garda Síochána Structures and Organisation was submitted to the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, early in the new year, but he has not made it public.
The Minister indicated last month that older stations in more established urban areas could be closed to free up resources to police rapidly developing housing estates.
In the face of Opposition criticism, however, the Minister and other Cabinet and Minister of State colleagues subsequently insisted there were "no plans" to close any stations.
However, a copy of the confidential review, parts of which have been seen by The Irish Times, makes clear that the reforms, if accepted, would be among the biggest faced by the force for years.
The existing number of 130 Garda Síochána districts, which are run by superintendents, should be cut "by between 20 and 32" and the cuts could go even deeper since it goes on: "The minimum target (is) to be kept under review."
The number of Garda divisions, which are headed by chief superintendents, should be cut from 22 to 17, while the number of regions, headed by assistant chief commissioners, should be cut by one.
Resources should be centralised, it recommends: "The report recommends improvements in the allocation and management of regional resources so as to foster a culture of getting best value from available resources.
"It is recommended that, in the interests of more effective policing, resources should be allocated to districts rather than to a station," the review group said, in its third and final report to the Government.
"Detective resources (should) be managed at a divisional level under a detective superintendent- inspector (where appropriate) rather than at district level as at present."
Following a review of stations in Dublin and the south-east, the review group has recommended major cuts in opening hours for a large number of the 706 stations in the Republic.
"Between 80 per cent and 90 per cent of customers called to a Garda station during regular office hours," most callers "required a Garda signature for passports, licences, etc," and "very few callers arrived during the night," it said.
Under the plan, the 17 surviving divisional headquarters would be open 24 hours a day, while district headquarters would also operate on a 24-hour basis unless they are within two kilometres of a divisional headquarters.
"(In that case) they would operate variable opening hours depending on the workload and number of callers," said the steering group, which was led by former top civil servant Mr Kevin Bonner.
This is the third report produced by the group, which was set up by the Government in 1998.
Smaller stations, which would not have cells, would operate undefined "variable opening hours", while the lowest grade of station, to be known as "public offices", would open for between one and eight hours a day.
The Fine Gael TD, Mr Jim O'Keeffe, said the Minister's decision not to reveal the existence of the report in advance of the local and European elections raised serious questions.
"The report has been on his desk for months, but it has been hidden from the public's view. For a Minister who is not slow with the public word, he has been remarkably coy about this one," the Cork South West TD said.