IN THE wake of a number of violent incidents in a West Limerick town, including a shocking incident of a jeep ramming into a home and igniting early this morning, a local councillor has appealed for increased policing on the run up to Christmas.
Fine Gael councillor Adam Teskey called for a national intervention after a jeep was rammed into a Rathkeale home before bursting into flames in the early hours of this Tuesday morning (November 12).
It is not known if the jeep was intentionally set alight following the smash or if the fire was as a result of the collision.
It is understood that the violent incident is related to an ongoing feud between Traveller families in the area.
This follows another recent incident which saw a truck driven into a home in Rathkeale in late October, and a petrol bomb being thrown at another property earlier in that month.
Gardaí confirmed they are investigating an incident of “criminal damage” occurring at approximately 3.20am this Tuesday morning.
It is not known if the house was occupied at the time of the incident, but Gardaí say that no injuries have been reported, adding that “investigations are ongoing”.
Local councillor for the Adare Rathkeale area, Fine Gael’s Adam Teskey, appealed in the wake of the ramming for an increase in Garda resources as the Christmas season approaches, which sees the population of the town swell significantly.
“We’re heading into a situation where our population almost doubles in size,” Cllr Teskey said. “Measures need to be taken in order to prevent such behaviour. We desperately require extra resources to be deployed.”
“When you hear of instances of this nature, it further supports the need and the call, both locally and from the local budgetary assistance, but also we need national budgetary assistance here to support the endeavours of the state agencies in tackling and rooting out such crimes.”
