Independent TD for Galway East, Sean Canney, has called on the Government to expand the scope of its recently announced €10 million additional overtime funding for Dublin’s gardai in an effort to counteract the city’s crime, as the ‘absence of garda presence’ on the ground is a ‘serious concern’ across the country.
Speaking about rural crime in Galway, Deputy Canney says that the absence of garda presence on the ground is a serious concern in every part of the country, saying that the number of houses and farms that are ‘robbed on a continuous basis’ is ‘frightening’.
“I have encountered so many people whose houses have been broken into and ransacked in broad day light. It is now commonplace and it is not confined to houses in isolated areas. Houses along main roads are being targeted and there seems to be no garda presence on the ground.
“The announcement by Government to provide €10 million in additional funding for overtime in Dublin is a welcome development but additional funding must also be provided for the rest of the country.
“We all know that prevention is the best form of crime prevention, and this can only be achieved if the necessary resources are provided to have gardai on the beat and demonstrating a presence on our roads and towns. Whilst garda numbers are not at a level that is required, it is imperative that we give the gardai across the country the necessary funding to provide a better prevention service”.
High visibility policing in Dublin
The additional fund payment for garda overtime to increase the ‘high visibility policing in the Dublin Metropolitan Region’ was announced last month by the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, with the details for the additional €10 million fund announced by Assistant Commissioner Willis on August 22.
The scope of the fund will allow for ‘increased deployment of the Garda National Public Order Unit in the city centre, with €2 million of the €10 million dedicated to increased public order capacity’, additionally there will be ‘enhanced visible garda presence at strategic locations in Dublin city centre’, including the Garda Air Support Unit, Garda Mounted Unit, the Garda Dog Unit, Regional Armed Response Units, and Road Policing Units’. The fund will also bolster Operation Citizen, ‘including a focus on tackling street level drug dealing, anti-social behaviour and the seizure of alcohol in the city centre.
Garda Public Attitudes Survey 2022
The additional overtime funding announcement has coincided with the release of the annual ‘Garda Public Attitudes Survey 2022’ on Tuesday, August 29, with some 7,700 people across the country sharing their perception of An Garda Síochána and crime in Ireland.
The survey, which was conducted between August to December in 2022, found that 63 per cent of people surveyed had ‘no fears’ or ‘very few fears’ about crime, with 60 per cent saying that fear of crime had ‘no impact on their quality of life’. Overall, 81 per cent of those interviewed believe that local crime is ‘not a problem’ compared to national crime.
With enhanced garda visibility being a significant part of the additional overtime payment for Dublin city, 43 per cent of those surveyed across Ireland said they were ‘aware of garda patrols in their area’, a drop of six per cent compared to figures from the 2021 survey.
