The news that six Garda stations in Mayo were included in a rash of closures across the country has been greeted with derision by politicians from the opposition parties in the county. The news was announced on Wednesday afternoon when most eyes were on the announcement of the Budget in the Dáil.
Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary, speaking to the Mayo Advertiser on Thursday morning, said: “I don’t like saying it but there has been a surge in crime around the county and people can see that on the ground, these closures aren’t going to make people feel any safer.”
Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary, speaking to the Mayo Advertiser on Thursday morning, said: “I don’t like saying it but there has been a surge in crime around the county and people can see that on the ground, these closures aren’t going to make people feel any safer.”
Even though none of the six stations in Ballycastle, Blacksod, Lahardane, Ballyglass, Ballyvary, and Hollymount are full time stations, Dep Calleary said their loss will be seriously felt in their communities, “Even if these stations were only open for a few hours at a time, they acted as a deterrent to criminals and offered people comfort,” he said. “A local garda in an area notices things that gardaí passing through just won’t.”
The fact that these closures were announced on the same day as the Budget did not surprise Dep Calleary, as it has happened before. “It’s the second year in a row Minister Shatter has done this on Budget day, just this year it is bigger and there are more closures.”Another concern for the Ballina-based TD is the redrawing of Garda divisions in the county which will see the Swinford and Claremorris districts joined up. “Apart from the closure of stations the joining up of the Swinford and Claremorris Garda divisions is a huge thing. You’re going to have a Garda Division that’s going to stretch from Mount Falcon outside Ballina to the Galway border past Claremorris.
“It’s going to be a huge area for the division to cover, and with the best will in the world it’s going to be difficult. The closure of stations is going to put extra pressure on the bigger stations which will have to pick up the slack.
“In the likes of Castlebar it’s going to have a hit with Lahardane, Ballyvary, and Ballyglass that are losing their station, all in close proximity. And with Ballycastle going, you’ve got Killala now having a huge geographic area in and around Glenamoy to cover,” he said.
Sinn Féin town councillor Thérése Ruane also hit out at the closure of the stations, saying yesterday: “This is devastating news for rural communities in Mayo and this follows the closure of four stations in Tuar Mhic Éadaigh, Mulranny, Bellacorrick, Glenisland, in March last year. This nothing short of another savage attack on rural Ireland.”
Cllr Ruane went on to hit out at these further closures to rural services, “These station closures will have a devastating impact on local communities. We've seen a sharp rise in burglaries in rural areas here in Mayo in recent weeks and months and now people will feel even more vulnerable in their homes in rural areas. Yet again, rural Ireland is under attack, rural communities have already disproportionately suffered under the cuts regime imposed by this and the previous Fianna Fáil government. Both the Irish Farmers’ Association and the Garda Representatives Association, Irish Rural Link, and the vast majority of gardaí, have repeatedly opposed these ongoing station closures as they know the value of community policing. These are people who know rural communities unlike those who are in charge of drafting these proposals.”
Dep Calleary also told the Advertiser that if further closures of courts in the county come to pass, it will put an even further strain on the policing number in the county. “We’re also waiting to hear about the closure of the courts soon, and we could see the closure of a number of courts services, with the likes of Ballyhaunis, Swinford, and Achill, and even Westport maybe being closed down. That’s going to have a further draw of Garda resources by taking gardaí out of their areas where they have to go to court in Castlebar.”
