FIGHTING CRIME – DERMOT AHERN

MY home county Louth is often referred to in political circles as the ‘most urban’ of all the constituencies outside Dublin. This is mainly because, as the smallest county in Ireland, it contains the country’s two largest towns, Dundalk and Drogheda.,

Over t he l ast number of decades during the Troubles, Dundalk, because of its close proximity to the border, was rarely out of the news, and for all the wrong reasons.

Drogheda, on the other hand, had a more normal progression, especially in the last two decades, when large numbers of young couples took up residence there, mainly because of its proximity to Dublin.

Drogheda became a very vibrant place to live. Proof of this included the fact that last year, the Fleadh Cheoil was held in the town, attracting hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country.

It was such a success that the town is going to hold the event again this year.

However, over the last year or so, Drogheda has been the focus of much negative publicity because of the ongoing feud between rival criminal gangs. The fact that this has happened has taken most people in the area by complete surprise.

Sinister

As always with the town of this size – with more than 40,000 residents – there are the usual problems of a large urban area. But the flaring up of very dangerous open warfare is a matter of extreme concern to the residents of the town.

Comparisons have been made with the situation which previously pertained in Limerick city. However, many from the powers-that-be have maintained that the situation in Drogheda is nowhere near as bad as Limerick had been.

However, having had some experience with the situation in Limerick when I was Minister for Justice, it is my view that, in proportionate terms, the Drogheda gangland scene is just as bad, if not worse, than Limerick at its height.

Indeed, some of the incidents that have taken place in Drogheda recently have been more reckless and irresponsible than some of the high-profile incidents in Limerick because they were situations in which large numbers of the general public were put in danger.

Back in February, in front of many shoppers and in broad daylight, a man in his 30s was shot and injured just after he had left a shop in the M1 Retail Park.

Even more sinister was a driveby shooting which took place last week, again in the middle of the day, in one of the busiest parts of the town, beside the hospital and schools. A man was shot and injured in the incident.

Anyone who has seen the video of this attack, which was caught on CCTV, has been horrified about the wanton nature of the shooting and the total disregard for i nnocent bystanders, including children.

Indeed, one of the bullets fired narrowly missed a woman who was passing along the footpath outside the targeted house.

These are just two of a number of incidents which have been widely publicised. However, they only tell a small part of the story.

What is just as worrying to the general population in Drogheda is the fear and intimidation which has spread right across the town.

While there are a number of areas within the town which are t he main f ocus of Garda attention, there is a general fear and unease pervading the entire area. There have been many situations involving members of the two gangs, which have not come to the public’s attention outside Drogheda, but which nonetheless have caused grave disquiet in the town.

Any reporters who have visited the town in recent days will be struck by the fear and loathing among the public living in the worst affected areas.

And yet those i nvolved in helping to promote the town have been doing their level best to show the outside world, especially in the context of the Fleadh Cheoil being held in midAugust, that it is business as usual in the area.

I very much welcome the visit last week by the Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, and the present Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan.

I have to say that it was not before time.

Louth Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd had been subjected to significant criticism in the local media, and was valiantly defending the policing response, and that of the Minister, to date.

One of the main bones of contention was the fact that a number of months ago, in response to a previous incident in the town, a number of gardaí, who had been sent to the area, had been subsequently withdrawn, despite the fact that the feud was continuing.

However, it was only when the Justice Minister and the Garda Commissioner visited Drogheda that i t was clear that the Government was sitting up and taking notice.

The Garda Commissioner announced that an extra 25 gardaí would be allocated to Drogheda, and that the armed Emergency Response Unit had been already deployed to the town. He guaranteed that the extra gardaí would not be ‘a flash in the pan’.

Going back to my experience with the Limerick situation, it is a fact that gangland crime such as this has to be dealt with as a multi-faceted issue.

First and foremost, a strong and proactive police presence is critical in properly dealing with these criminals.

Untouchable

Similar to Minister Flanagan’s visit to Drogheda, I also, as Justice Minister, had a highprofile visit to Roxboro Garda Station in Limerick, along with the then Garda Commissioner and senior management.

For me, and indeed for some of the senior Garda management based in Dublin, it was extremely illustrative to hear the on-theground difficulties which the local gardaí had to deal with in Limerick at that time.

Mainly as a result of that meeting in Roxboro, I ensured that we plugged gaps in the laws, arranging for the passing of new, fairly draconian gangland crime legislation targeting the faceless leaders of the criminal gangs, who, up to that point, were virtually untouchable.

Also as a result of that meeti ng, dozens of extra guards descended on Limerick, and literally hounded the leading gang figures as they were going about their daily lives, to such an extent that they were being stopped by the gardaí every few hundred yards.

Things got so hot for some of the gang lords that a number of them left our shores, while most others ended up in prison.

I can only hope that last week’s visit by the Justice Minister and the Garda Commissioner was not just for the optics.

I hope that the local gardaí on the ground will feel much more assured that they will be given all the necessary resources and manpower to quell the gang warfare that is currently plaguing the town.