No new Templemore recruits for Mayo

NEW TO THE FORCE Pictured graduating at the Garda College in Templemore last week was former Mayo minor captain (in 2009) and Castlebar Mitchels footballer, Aidan Walsh, who will be stationed in Coolock. He is pictured with his nephew Caolan Callaghan (aged four months). Pic: Liam Burke/Press 22

Councillor claims gardaí leaving the Westport area are not being replaced

Anton McNulty

THE most senior garda in Mayo confirmed that the county has received no new recruits from the Garda Training College in Templemore.
On Friday, 201 new garda recruits graduated from the Garda Training College but Chief Superintendent Tony Healy of the Mayo Garda Division confirmed that none will be assigned to a station.
Chief Supt Healy was asked if new recruits will be assigned to Mayo at a meeting of the Mayo Joint Policing Committee on Friday and while he replied that they would not, he said this did not mean the division was not getting extra resources.
“Have we enough resources? We could certainly do with more. Did we get any of the new recruits? The answer is no we didn’t. We are getting resources and while it is not as quickly as we would like, we are getting experienced guards who are being transferred into the division. While it is great to get a injection of youth it does take a period of years to get these people fully trained up to be able to operate at their maximum capacity. When experienced guards come in they are ready to go straight away,” he said.
The issue of resources in the county was raised by former Garda and current Independent councillor Christy Hyland who claimed that the number of uniformed gardaí in the Westport area has been reduced by up to ten in the last year.
“When we talk about an action plan, I know in my area, there is in the region of nine to ten uniform guards gone from Westport and not replaced. I know the resources are scarce but it is a serious situation where I am in a town where the population trebles on a Saturday night. I am seriously worried that we are taking uniformed men and women and putting them in the drug section but we are not getting new gardaí from Templemore to replace them. There was three guards on the beat in Westport on Saturday night and I am worried that Westport area will be downsized,” he said.
Cllr Hyland was supported by his fellow Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne who claimed the county has not got new recruits from Templemore in the last two years.
“The fact is people are retiring and you don’t have young gardaí coming on the scene, this limits what we are doing. Yet you are doing wonderful work and could do a whole lot more with more resources,” Cllr Kilcoyne said.
Chief Supt Healy said gardaí are always looking for additional resources and added ‘the support of the JPC in supporting our request for additional resources is always helpful’.
Cllr Hyland was critical of the Garda Commissioner’s plans to reform the structures of the Gardaí which will result in the amalgamation of the Mayo Division with the Roscommon/Longford Division. He said that Commissioner Drew Harris’ claim that this will result in more uniformed gardaí on the ground was not evident in the county.
“The Commissioner comes down here and says this [amalgamation] will result in more uniforms on the ground. Give me the figures. Ten years ago there was a region of 295 gardaí in Mayo and we are down to ten uniformed guards in Westport. What is the Commissioner saying when he says we will have more uniforms on the ground?” he said.
Fianna FΡil councillor Michael Loftus claimed the restructuring of the gardaí was just ‘a money saving exercise’ and called for the number of Superintendents in Mayo to remain at five.