A Clare Government TD is defending the closure of nine Garda Stations in Clare saying efforts to target the rural crime wave here have proven successful.
It follows the announcement of five million euro in funding for Operation Thor, a national anti-crime strategy, which will target around 200 offenders believed to be behind a spate of robberies around the country.
Fine Gael's Pat Breen says the largest increase in crime over the past seven years was in Dublin where burglaries are up 20 per cent since 2007, while in the same period in Clare, there's been a 20 per cent decrease in crime.
The Ballynacally TD believes current efforts will have a far greater impact on rural crime.