The Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has confirmed that the State saves just €4,000 a year from the closure of each garda station.

Ms Fitzgerald says the total annual savings from closing 139 garda stations are just over €550,000.

But she has insisted that the closure of garda stations was not designed as a cost-saving measure, but rather to free up gardaí for frontline work elsewhere.

The news comes as the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show a slight increase in crime - with a 1.2% increase in offences in the last year.

The details came in response to a written Dáil question from Sinn Féin's justice spokesman Padraig MacLochlainn.