SINN Féin councillor Tom Collopy has called for the convening of a special session of Limerick’s Joint Policing Committee following a recent spate of recorded incidents across Limerick City.
The City North representative made the comments following a number of videos circulating on social media showing assaults, firearm discharges, and other serious violent crimes.
“Communities across Limerick deserve to feel safe and protected but many feel let down by Fine Gael’s failures to invest in safe policing levels. A recent spate of recorded violent criminal acts have left many residents fearful of a surge in criminality,” Cllr Collopy told the Limerick Post.
“I am calling for a convening of the Joint Policing Committee to discuss this recent surge in criminality, and separately, I am requesting that the Justice Minister Helen McEntee step up and ensure that Limerick Gardaí are furnished with the resources they need to address this worrying trend.”
“Figures show that there are 582 Gardaí in Limerick with 282 of them operating out of Henry Street Garda station. Unfortunately, despite these numbers, there remains a concern that an insufficient number of Gardaí are visible on patrol and working within the heart of our communities.
“People in Limerick City need to know that if a crime is committed, an appropriate and quick response will be issued.”
The Gardaí, Cllr Collopy believes, continue to do a good job in Limerick in often the most difficult of circumstances.
“The Gardaí that I have spoken to have relayed to me their frustrations with the availability of resources and the criminal justice system more generally. They have advised that in many cases they know who is responsible for a crime, they present the evidence, and yet the alleged perpetrator is back in the area within weeks and sometimes days.
“I am calling for a convening of the JPC at the earliest opportunity so that senior Gardaí can outline what steps they are taking to address this uptick in violent crime and to hear from them as to what resources they lack in combating these issues.”
In response, the Department of Justice told the Limerick Post that the Government is determined to build stronger, safer communities, and to tackle all criminality.
“The Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources needed to keep our rural and urban communities safe, as demonstrated by the unprecedented allocation provided in Budget 2023 of €2.14billion,” a spokesman said.
“Last month, Minister McEntee met 87 new Gardaí who attested in Templemore. These new Gardaí have now started work in stations around the country. This brought the Garda strength to 13,949 sworn Gardaí.
“100 new Gardaí have attested so far this year, another 470 will be in active training, and two more classes are due into Templemore in October and December,” the spokesman concluded.
