A Donegal county councillor has called for extra garda manpower to tackle crime in the county.
Cllr Adrian Glackin told this week’s Letterkenny MD meeting how people in rural areas are living in fear of crime due to low Garda resources and response times.
Cllr Glackin shared his concerns that Garda numbers in the county are falling while crime, unprovoked assaults and dangerous driving continue.
He told the council that the number of Gardaí in Donegal fell by 1% in the seven years up to 2016 and fell by a further by 5% in the intervening time. It was also reported this year that the number of community Gardaí in the county fell from 35 to 2 since 2011.
“It’s not just the manpower that’s decreasing, but the resources too. We had the farcical situation in Bunbeg where for over half a year a station had to do without a patrol car. This is a typical example of all the frontline services in Donegal that have been decimated,” Cllr Glackin said.
Cllr Glackin said that new Garda recruits coming out of Templemore are not being sent in the direction of Donegal, despite constant crime and break-ins at the border.
“Gardaí are stretched to the max at the minute,” he said.
“People in rural areas are lacking in confidence if something were to happen – is there going to be a response to it?”
Cllr Gerry McMonagle echoed Glackin’s concerns over a lack of Garda personnel, saying more community policing is needed in Donegal to cover all areas other than the three main stations in Letterkenny, Milford and Ballyshannon.
“The guard is as far removed from the local community as they’re ever been,” Cllr McMonagle said.
The council agreed to contact the Department of Justice and Equality to request extra Garda resources to the area.
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