Sinn Féin Deputy Pearse Doherty has called on Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan to visit Donegal and see the pressures on policing here for himself.
There are 18 fewer gardaí in the county than there were 25 years ago, Doherty told the Dáil yesterday, as well as one third fewer gardaí policing our roads than three years ago.
Deputy Doherty is urging the Minister to realise that the new Garda policing model does not take into account the challenges that exist due to the geographical size of Donegal and its extensive coastline.
He has also said it’s an “insult” to gardaí on the ground in Letterkenny that no superintendent has been appointed yet.
“The Minister will know that in Donegal there is significant anxiety among rank-and-file gardaí and in our local communities about what the new Garda policing model means for the county,” Deputy Doherty said.
“Donegal is one of the last counties where the new model is yet to be rolled out and there are concerns it will harm the links to local communities. Gardaí on the ground clearly have no confidence in the planned changes and they continue to struggle with a shortage of personnel and equipment.
“I invite the Minister up to Donegal to experience that and ask him to make it a point of priority to reach out to the gardaí and go on a visit.
“He should look at the vastness of the county, the Gaeltacht community, the offshore islands, the Border that has to be policed, the airport that carries international flights and the coastal community that has to be policed along with Killybegs and try to figure out how two Garda districts or two Garda community policing areas will suffice. They simply will not.”
Deputy Doherty said that gardaí deserve gratitude and respect for their work, particularly after the tragic events in Gortahork last Friday.
Deputy Doherty said that gardaí work in “some of the most difficult situations imaginable”, as he paid his respects to the families of Jamie Diver and Shaun Martin McClafferty as well as the two young men who are fighting in hospital at the moment following the collision.