Community Garda resources across County Galway are at risk of further cuts after Justice Minister Alan Shatter backed away from a promise to re-open Garda recruitment this year.
This is the view of Fianna Fáil agriculture spokesperson and Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív who said the Minister’s actions will lead to a “further downgrading of community policing in this region”.
He said: “There are already gaping holes in community policing in Galway. And now numbers are set to fall even further with no contingency plan in place.”
Dep Ó Cuív called it “a shameless U-turn” by a Minister “out of touch with the realities of frontline policing”.
“Garda numbers are falling to dangerously low levels and it takes two years to train new recruits,” he said. “That is why it’s absolutely crucial the Garda Training College at Templemore is reopened this year.”
