Renewed calls to reverse Garda cuts
Calls to re-establish the Gorey Garda District were renewed at a public meeting on policing which was held recently by The Rock Ramsfort Park Community Alert.
The meeting was attended by representatives of local Community Alert groups, the IFA, local councillors, Deputy Michael D’Arcy, Supt Liam White, and Sgt Evelyn Reddan.
Among the speakers was retired garda sergeant Seamus Delahunty who said it was over three years since Gorey was downgraded to become a sub-station of the Enniscorthy District. He said they were told at the time that this would lead to more visible policing and more community policing.
‘What has happened?’ he asked. ‘We have complaints of no gardaí on the beat, no gardaí calling to schools, gardaí unable to attend community meetings and callouts. People are not reporting crimes, and they feel that crime is not being investigated properly.’
‘The reason why is we don’t have enough gardaí based in North Wexford,’ he added. He said there were 59 gardaí in Gorey in 2012, and there are now 48.
‘Enniscorthy has first call on all resources. There have been no recruits in Gorey since the downgrading in 2013. No-one has been promoted out of Gorey since the downgrading,’ he stated. ‘Those seeking promotion trans- fer to Enniscorthy, New Ross, or Enniscorthy where they have been successful. In 2015, 15 new probationers came to the Wexford division. Not one of them came north of Enniscorthy.’
He said that a promised review of district boundaries nationwide, will now be a divisional review. He referred to a written response in the Dáil recently by Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality Frances Fitzgerald who said the Government Plan for An Garda Síochána has reforms including ‘the replacement of the current District model of policing with a Divisional model where responsibilities will be allocated on a functional rather than geographical basis.’
‘We need Gorey to return to district status to get our fair share of resources,’ concluded Mr Delahunty.
Highlighting recent successful operations against crime and drug dealing, Superintendent Liam White took issue with some of the points made.
He said he has lodged an application for Gorey Garda Station to become a training station, and he expected a response on this early next year. Following a general discussion on the issues, it was agreed to await the outcome of this application.
Afterwards, Deputy Michael D’Arcy called on Wexford’s Joint Policing Committee to campaign for the restoration of the Gorey district. He has been told a review of the districts will take 12 months.
‘It doesn’t matter what the review is called, as long as the districts remain in place,’ he said. ‘Supt White was eager to get the training station over the line to help with manpower.’ He said the reduction in local numbers was in line with the reduction in other stations.