MORE Garda resources are needed in Castletroy to deal with growing incidents and reports of anti-social behaviour.
That’s according to Aontú campaigner for the area, Eric Nelligan, who claims that phone calls from residents to the Gardaí about incidents of crime are not being followed up on.
“Law and order concerns are becoming far more evident not only in Limerick but nationwide. There is a growing realisation that the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has taken her eye off the ball. She has neglected her primary duty to keep people safe,” Mr Nelligan claims.
The Limerick Garda District, the Aontú representative believes, is “massively overstretched” with a drop in Garda numbers since the turn of the year due to the retirement and resignation of a number of Gardaí and fewer new recruits being allocated to the county.
“The Minister for Justice recently announced more resources and Gardaí for Dublin in response to the recent attacks on the streets of the Capital and the US Embassy warnings to its citizens visiting Dublin. However, this is not just a Dublin problem, it is also a problem here in Limerick.
“Over the past week, I’ve been informed that the suburb of Castletroy has seen cars been broken into and having IT equipment stolen, vandalism to the bicycles on the Nextbike sharing scheme, intimidation of children in the Castletroy town park, verbal abuse and threats being made on the Greenway, and houses having doors kicked in.
“To make matters worse, it’s the elderly, young children, and vulnerable that are being targeted most often,” he says.
Mr Nelligan takes the view that a radical rethink is needed in how we approach crime in Ireland.
“We must start by giving the Gardaí the numbers and resources they need to do the job they are skilled at doing to the best of their ability. We need to see more Gardaí on the street and responding to calls for assistance.
“The perception exists amongst law-abiding people that those committing crimes are getting off scot-free. Individuals involved in crime and anti-social behaviour are confident that they will suffer no repercussions for their actions. This mindset is growing, and prompt actions are needed to reverse the course we are on,” he concluded.
