Donegal Sinn Féin TD, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn will raise the growing concerns of communities across Donegal about crime with the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter.
Padraig Mac Lochlainn
Deputy Mac Lochlainn will establish if the Minister is aware of the recent public meeting in Manorcunningham attended by over 1500 people and what he intends to do to address their concerns, particularly around the ongoing attacks on the elderly.
He said ”Minister Shatter needs to listen to the concerns of the people of Donegal. He also needs to listen to grassroots gardaí at the front line in Donegal who have repeatedly raised their concerns about the cuts to garda numbers and vehicles in the county.
“It has been proven again and again that when the gardaí are resourced and supported with intelligence from our communities, they will defeat the criminals and bring them to justice.”
He said his party published the outcome of a survey on crime his party members conducted at 500 homes in the county.
Among the key findings were:
Just under a third (31%) of persons polled were victims of crime or anti / social behaviour within the last five years.
59% of persons polled believe that there is a serious problem with crime and anti-social behaviour within their community.
59% of persons polled believe that the level of crime and anti-social behaviour has risen over the past five years.
50% of persons polled believe that the Garda presence in their community has markedly decreased over the past five years.
79% of persons polled would like to see an increase in Garda patrols.
80% of persons polled either do not have, or are not aware of a community alert / neighbourhood watch scheme in their local area.
86% of persons polled would like to play a greater role in assisting the Gardaí in policing their local area.
“We submitted this survey to the Minister and unfortunately, he has not learned the lessons and engaged with our recommendations.
“I am now calling on the Minister to deploy the necessary resources and personnel to An Garda Síochána in the county, to ensure that Community Alert and Neighbourhood Watch schemes are revitalised and adequately resourced and to ensure that all elderly people with limited financial resources are supported to have security alert systems in their homes”.