by Kathy Masterson
LIMERICK TD Niall Collins is calling on Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald to come to Limerick to speak with frontline gardaí and business and community groups about their fears of gangland violence returning to the city.
The Fianna Fáil Justice Spokesperson revealed that there is growing concern in Limerick’s business and tourism sectors about how the city’s image could be affected by the recent shooting of Christy Keane in the University of Limerick.
He told the Limerick Post: “I’ve been contacted by people involved in business, hospitality and tourism in Limerick and they are very concerned about the image of Limerick.
“The Limerick brand has recovered strongly from the height of the gangland activity, and they are worried that the city’s image will slip back if that activity was to return.”
Deputy Collins said he has also spoken to gardaí who say that garda resources across the county have suffered as so many members of the force have been deployed to investigate the Keane shooting.
“The official line coming from An Garda Siochána is that they have enough resources to deal with this, but the facts are different. We lost over 100 gardaí in Limerick in the last three years, that’s a big drop.
“Unfortunately, response times have been affected. A lot of gardaí have been sucked into the investigation into the Christy Keane shooting, and that has affected other parts of county Limerick. It’s been said to me that gardaí have been pulled from various parts of the county,” he explained.
Deputy Collins added: “Looking at Limerick’s former gangland experience in the early noughties, the government put in strong legislation and resources, but now unfortunately the resource side is not there.”
Meanwhile, gang boss Christy Keane has been transferred to Cork University Hospital, where he remains under armed garda protection.
A man and a woman who were arrested in connection with the shooting, which took place on Monday June 29, have been released without charge.
