Donegal Deputy Charlie McConalogue has appealed to the Government to halt its dangerous approach to policing policy.
The Fianna Fáil Deputy has accused the Government of undermining the gardaí’s ability to keep communities safe by slashing resources, forcing major cuts to garda numbers, and shutting down rural garda stations.
Deputy McConalogue was speaking ahead of a Dáil debate on a Fianna Fáil motion calling on the Government to reverse its slash and burn of community garda resources.
The motion opposes the closure of 100 garda stations this week as well as the underhand reduction in garda numbers and the cuts to specialised garda units particularly in the border region.
“I have spoken to so many people over the past number of weeks who just cannot understand how the Government’s response to the surge in burglaries, thefts and violent attacks here in Donegal is to dramatically reduce the resources available to the gardaí to allow them carry out their work,” said Deputy McConalogue.
“The Justice Minister Alan Shatter needs to open his eyes and recognise what has been happening in Donegal. People are fearful in their homes. They need a strong and visible garda presence in their communities to deter criminals and to support vulnerable householders – not another slash and burn of community resources.
“The underhand cut to garda numbers must stop. It creates dangerous gaps in our community policing and put enormous pressure on local gardaí who are already going above and beyond the call of duty. The gardaí, and communities, can’t take any more cuts. If the Government allows garda numbers to dwindle below 13,000, our force will be watered down to its lowest level in over a decade.
“Let’s be clear about this. These cuts are Minister Shatter’s own political decisions and are not as a result of an agreement with the Troika or anyone else. No one is forcing him to shut down 100 garda stations. No one is forcing him to target the West and North West region for the bulk of these cuts. No one is forcing him to make such significant cuts to garda numbers. The Minister needs to admit he is making a mistake and support this motion this week.”