‘Someone could get shot’

‘Someone could get shot’


Councillors describe rural communities ‘living in fear’

Rowan Gallagher and Ciara Galvin

PEOPLE in Mayo are fearful in their homes due to the closure of Garda stations, short sentences for violent criminals and the possible closure of local courts, according to a number of Mayo County Councillors.
The levels of fear could well lead to someone getting shot, according to one Fianna FΡil councillor, Al McDonnell.
Speaking at last night’s (Monday) Mayo County Council monthly meeting, enraged councillors suggested the Garda Traffic Corps needed to be used to man Garda stations around the county and not used exclusively for traffic issues.
The councillors were reacting to a major crime wave in Mayo and surrounding counties over the last month which included an assault on Breaffy business woman, Regina Sweeney, the weekend before last. The men escaped after the assault before Gardaí arrived and a high-speed car chase across the county followed.

‘Savages’
Cllr McDonnell said he believed people were afraid to leave their homes for even short periods of time and that the communities were going to hit back with deadly circumstances.
“People are afraid. I’ve been to some of the houses of those that have been victims and they are fearful. People leaving for just a few hours are asking their neighbours to act as vigilantes. More are getting legally held firearms and someone is going to get shot.
“The criminals are feeling very secure. The police are not there anymore and these are ruthless criminals, they are savages,” he said.
Belmullet Cllr Gerry Coyle said punishment for criminals was not harsh enough and that anyone convicted of a violent assault needed to be given a mandatory two to three year sentence and not let out after only serving a portion of their sentence.
“There simply needs to be a mandatory sentence for any of these people found guilty of violent assaults. But then again the only difference between the Burlington and Mountjoy Prison is that you don’t have the key in Mountjoy. They have TVs and good meals every day,” he said.

Garda station closures ‘a disgrace’
After recent waves of burglaries affecting people in various parts of Mayo, and especially around Ballinrobe and its environs, Fianna Faíl Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív has called for more Gardaí to be stationed at Ballinrobe.
Deputy Ó Cuív said it was obvious that now was not the time to shut down more garda stations across Mayo and Galway, as Gardaí were already stretched beyond their limits.
“Instead of putting all his energy into attacking our local garda resources, Minister Shatter should be looking at ways to catch the criminals responsible for these robberies and deter further raids in the area,” said Deputy Ó Cuív.
Deputy Ó Cuív was speaking in light of further cost-saving measures by the government, as 29 garda stations are to close in the western region next year, with seven of those to affect Mayo and Connemara. Most of the stations are set to close within the first half of 2013.
Along with these closures Garda districts of Claremorris and Swinford are to be amalgamated, forming a new enlarged Claremorris District.
The areas which will lose stations are Ballycastle, Laherdane, Blacksod, Ballyglass, Ballyvary, Hollymount and Leenane.
Speaking about the closure of his local station in Hollymount, Councillor Patsy O’ Brien said he hadn’t received much feedback from the community about the future closure.
The councillor felt that people in the area were ‘used to it for so long’, referring to the station’s already reduced services, as it operates for one hour daily and has not been operated by a full-time garda for more than six years.
Cllr O’Brien said he was sure there was a need and an obligation to still provide a garda presence ‘in some way’, and the councillor said he has plans to meet with the local Superintendent Joe Doherty to talk about the future.
In relation to the recent epidemic of rural burglaries throughout Mayo, Cllr O’ Brien said that people in Hollymount were ‘no more afraid than anyone else in the county’.
“There was a bit of apprehension recently, but the Gardaí are making progress and the community have been involved in curtailing it. It’s important that everything is monitored and brought to the attention of the Gardaí,” explained the councillor.

Court closures
Independent Castlebar Cllr Michael Kilcoyne said the combination of the closures of the stations and the likely court closures would play into the hands of the criminals.
“It seems to be a policy to make the countryside into a wild west. If you have no Garda stations and then no courts  there will be nothing standing in-between law and anarchy. Small towns are on their knees with the recent crime wave,” he said.
Charlestown Sinn Fein Cllr Gerry Murray said criminals knew exactly how long they had to make their escape before Gardaí arrived on the scene.
“People are simply not able to get Gardaí in time, and criminals are able to gauge the amount of time it takes for the Gardaí to get there. They are then brazen enough to challenge the owners of the business in that time.
“Any young garda can do a checkpoint for tax and insurance – we need to stand down the traffic corps to man the stations and then give them a road network to cover,” he added.
Castlebar Independent Cllr Frank Durcan suggested Gardai shouldn’t be allowed to retire after 30 years of service.
“There is no police presence in town or in the rural areas. Have we got police or not? It’s a crazy thing that Gardaí can retire in their early 50s; they should have to work until they are 65 like everybody else and then we wouldn’t have a shortage of Gardaí to man the stations,” he concluded.