Thomas Pringle TD has today criticised the government on the recent spate of burglaries targeting the elderly across Donegal, describing them as ‘out of touch with the seriousness of these incidents and ignorant to what is needed on the ground’.
Commenting on the matter today, which was raised in the Dáil at Topical Issues, the Independent TD for Donegal South West stated: “Today the government has shown a complete lack of understanding of the terror that many people are now living under in Donegal following this spate of attacks.
“The fact that such a small number of people can reap havoc on an entire county such as Donegal clearly demonstrates the recklessness of the government’s decision to cut garda presence in rural Ireland with little or no consideration for what is needed on the ground.
“It has been pretty clear for some time that there has been a major issue with burglaries targeting the elderly in Donegal. The burglary and assault of two elderly people earlier this week, as well as the recent such incidents involving an 84-year-old-woman and the brutal attack of a 96-year-old woman are utterly despicable, but unfortunately this has been an on-going problem for some time now.
“I have been extremely concerned about this issue for some time because of the lack of garda presence in rural areas and the further closure of five stations in Donegal that we are now facing, and the fear this has caused. I highlighted this issue to the Taoiseach in the Dáil late last year at Leaders’ Questions, but it obviously fell on deaf ears and we are now seeing the brutal consequences of this government’s attack on rural Ireland.
“In response to my concerns today I was informed that the number of aggravated burglaries has gone down by over 17% in the last 12 months. I think if Minister Shatter paid a visit to Donegal and spoke to the victims of these brutal crimes he would learn quickly enough that that is far from the case in Donegal, with low garda presence allowing a small number of criminals to run rampant.
“What is needed is the reversal of the decision to close these five stations and the provision of adequate resources on the ground in Donegal to deal with these burglaries which would send a clear message that this barbaric behaviour will not be tolerated in Donegal, or anywhere else. What the people of Donegal need is action, not lip service,” stated Pringle.