Andrew Carey
A SENIOR Limerick barrister has expressed his dismay calling it extraordinary, the actions of the Minister for Justice to reduce manpower at County Limerick garda stations.
The matter arose when Mark Nicholas BL, was addressing Judge Carroll Moran at Limerick Circuit Court in connection with an accused grandmother seeking to amend conditions of her bail.
Bridget Ryan (52) with an address at Fairhill, Rathkeale had been before the court charged in connection with an incident near her address on June 7.
Ms Ryan, along with a number of others, stand accused of violent disorder on the date in question and had all been returned for trial to Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.
The accused grandmother had achieved bail where conditions include that she obey a curfew and sign on three times a week at Newcastlewest Garda Station.
Defence Counsel, Mark Nicholas sought an amendment to include that Ms Ryan could sign on at her local garda station in Rathkeale but the court was told by Garda Tom Flavin that the Rathkeale station was only open for one hour a day and that could be morning or evening. He further added that the station could go unmanned and remain closed if the gardai assigned to the station were called to an incident or emergency.
For a town the size of Rathkeale, Mr Nicholas said that it was extraordinary that gardai could not be made available and added that the public can;t get a service because of this. He quipped that Minister for Justice Alan Shatter should be congratulated for this.
Judge Moran said that he would not comment only to note that he was surprised to hear the new timetable of the garda station.
Bridget Ryan was granted a removal of the curfew and a reduction of her signing on condition to just once a week at Newcastlewest garda Station.
