[caption id="attachment_69918" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="The Garda Siochana has ranks aplenty but not enough files."]
Up to forty percent of garda stations have no access to the internet, it has been revealed.
The surprising fact has prompted one opposition member of the Dáil to describe the situation as "absurd."
The figures were revealed in a response to a parliamentary question by Fianna Fail's justice spokesman Dara Calleary, who expressed surprise that so many stations did not even have access to e-mail "in this day and age."
Just two years ago, over half of all garda stations were still not online, prompting the then Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan to say officers were forced to fight crime with "1960s methods."
However, justice minister Alan Shatter has insisted all district and divisional headquarters today were online, while others were able to use "secure voice communications" to carry out operational requirements.
Mr. Calleary said: "It is a fundamental requirement that information can be quickly transferred between a local station and divisional headquarters, and between senior members of the force and the rank and file.
Speed and efficiency of communication within the force is crucial to successful policing."
Speaking of a basic internet package plan to cover all stations without online access, Calleary added: "This does not have to be a costly exercise; it's about being clever about how resources are managed to achieve maximum benefit to the public."
