Speaking to the Athlone Advertiser this week, Westmeath County Council Cathaoirleach, Cllr Aengus O’Rourke, condemned the persistent anti-social behaviour which is detrimentally impacting upon the streets of Athlone.
“The continuing sharp rise in anti-social behaviour on our town’s streets and personal attacks on members of the Gardai is borne out by recent events in Athlone. Members of An Garda Siochana in Athlone have been assaulted in the course of their work in recent weeks and months and in one particular instance, a garda based in our town could now be laid-up for as long as a year, given the nature of his injuries, following a recent assault.
Almost daily the national news will report on the latest violent murder in some part of our country. A man or woman slain, in a brutal murderous attack, unfortunately is no longer unusual to hear. There was a time when one such murder a year would bring Ireland to a standstill,” Cllr O’Rourke stated.
The Cathaoirleach believes these abhorrent actions are becoming all too commonplace within the local community.
“We are now seeing such abhorrent actions on our own main street in recent times, the recent arrest of a child in Athlone for violent behaviour in public being a further example of the extent of the problem we as a society, and the Gardai, face in 2023.
“I hear about criminality, anti-social behaviour and frightening instances of intimidation in our local community on a weekly basis. I have had my own personal experiences of people threatening me with on a regular basis down through the years, but it is more prevalent in recent times. As recently as this week I experienced an incident with a member of the public and regrettably my children were there to witness it,” Cllr O’Rourke added.
Cllr O’Rourke is of the firm belief that respectability and common decency in society are in decline.
“Aspects of modern day society have become dysfunctional and the root causes are clear to me. There are three main issues at play - drugs, the lack of Gardai on our streets and the cynical use of social media platforms by some. Drugs are readily available in every estate, street and laneway in this town and every town and city in Ireland.
“The only way to break the vicious, vibrant and lucrative business of drugs is by effective long term strategic garda surveillance of the gangs and big players involved, coupled with the constant enforcement and harassment of the ring leaders operating below the big players. Street searches of individuals, warrants to search houses and traffic patrols should also be undertaken on a more frequent basis,” the Cathaoirleach asserted.
The Cathaoirleach noted that such actions are only possible if Garda numbers are doubled in Athlone and its immediate environs.
“However, regrettably this is not possible. Speaking regularly as I do to members of the Gardai, we would need to at least double the number of Gardai in Athlone to effectively undertake a widespread sustained operation against our local drug dealing community.
“Occasional hauls and arrests are very welcome and huge work go into these operations, but that is all they will be ‘occasional’ - it is not enough. I have huge admiration for the men and women of An Garda Siochana, but given the extent to which they are under resourced it is no surprise that they are constantly on the back foot, and they remain as a force and individually, very frustrated.
“Even though Athlone received a small number of additional Gardai last year, these welcome additional members have already been outnumbered by Gardai retiring. Athlone Garda station is and has been for some time critically low in terms of law enforcement numbers. In reality, Athlone needs at least one dozen additional Gardai to make any kind of difference. A review of retention and recruitment in the force has been committed to by the government and in my opinion this must occur with immediate effect with the outcome acted upon to the betterment of our local community,” Cllr O’Rourke concluded.
