Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As I rise to speak on statements on policing and community safety, I take the opportunity to remember an Independent councillor, Councillor Anthony Waldron, who died suddenly last month. Councillor Waldron had established the Enough is Enough campaign against rural crime in County Roscommon and it was an issue I had discussed with him at a number of events he held. I remember him here this evening.

Garda numbers are falling and continue to fall across Roscommon and Galway. There is a lack of visibility across all of our rural towns and this is leading to a dramatic rise in both antisocial behaviour and, in the case specifically of west Roscommon and north Galway, an ongoing issue this past year in terms of the number of burglaries, which has been rising all of the time.

I ask the Minister that communities would be better supported in terms of community alert. There are some supports, but we need to do a great deal more to build that relationship between local gardaí, who are typically not from the area, and the local community. Much of that has been lost and it is important we get that back.

I ask the Minister, as I asked his predecessor, for a specific policing plan for rural Ireland when it comes to prioritising those areas where Garda stations have closed and where Garda numbers are down. A specific rural Garda plan would be really important.

I take this opportunity to raise an issue with the Minister regarding Garda transfers. This is an issue I have raised with the Commissioner on many occasions but, unfortunately, he does not seem to see an issue with the process that is currently in place. I have spoken to a number of young gardaí who have been forced to leave their roles. They did not want to but they could no longer continue. They may be driving up and down on long commutes, renting somewhere and trying to build a house at home, so they look for transfers but get no information on when they might be transferred. I appreciate gardaí cannot be in their own backyard. Most of them do not want to be anyway. I have said to the Commissioner that a person could have the opportunity to transfer after a certain number of years away, even within their own division or even within an hour from home. We have an issue with recruitment and retention and yet we are losing good gardaí because they cannot plan their futures, build a home and build a family in their area. It is a major issue that should be dealt with.

See this speech in context