by Alan Jacques
LIMERICK Fianna Fáil TD, Willie O’Dea, has raised serious concerns at the drop in Garda numbers in Limerick in the last three years, especially as incidents of anti-social behaviour and petty crime continue to rise.
Figures published by the Minister for Justice in response to a parliamentary question from Deputy O’Dea reveal Garda numbers in the Limerick Division have dropped by 61 personnel — from 637 to 576 — since 2011.
According to the former Defence Minister, communities across Limerick are now crying out for extra Gardai on the streets as a deterrent to anti-social behaviour.
“When this Government came to office in 2011 there were 637 Garda personnel in the Limerick Garda Division and that figure has been reduced to 576 this year — a drop of 61 Gardaí to police Limerick.
“Yet, petty theft and anti-social behaviour is rife, much of it going unreported as people believe the Gardai won’t have the time to take these crimes seriously,” he said.
Deputy O’Dea also said he has been informed by senior Gardaí in Limerick that they don’t have the personnel to patrol areas where anti-social behaviour is an issue as regularly as is required. He insists that a highly visible Garda presence is needed in all parts of Limerick to reassure citizens that they can live in peace in their own homes.
“It’s time we started to reclaim our streets from people who have no respect for the rule of law or society as a whole,” he told the Limerick Post.
“Senior Gardai in Limerick have informed me that they are worried about the new generations of crime gangs coming up. We have to stop the rot — otherwise we will see resurgence in gangland crime, which the Gardai dealt with so successfully in the past. To do this, the Government need to urgently sanction more Gardai for Limerick.”
In response, a Garda spokesman commented, “For operational purposes An Garda Síochána do not comment on deployment of Garda personnel.”
