Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I tabled my Commencement matter, on a Garda station for the Castletroy area of Limerick, because I have had a number of calls recently, especially from older people in the community, about the fact that they have to use the Garda station in Henry Street in Limerick, which is approximately 5 km away from where they live. They are conscious of how busy gardaí are and those in Henry Street cover the area out to Bruff, which is a large area. One lady wanted to report a bogus caller but, because of the system, it took three days for the community garda to come back to her. She was concerned for the welfare for some of her neighbours.

Castletroy was originally a separate town from the city of Limerick and has a population of over 16,000, with a student population of some 20,000. With a total of 36,000, it is the largest suburb in Munster and encompasses Annacotty, Lisnagry, Milford and Monaleen, which were also separate areas at one stage. The University of Limerick is on its doorstep and there are a lot of industries growing at a very fast rate. Gardaí are doing a very good job and Limerick has been very lucky in recently receiving one of the new pilot cars with a computer inside it and enhanced Wi-Fi, which is like a Garda station in itself. The residents, however, want a station on their doorstep, even for simple things such as getting a passport signed or to report petty crimes. There is not a huge crime problem in Castletroy but the residents feel very vulnerable without a visible station and gardaí on the ground