Clare to lose eight garda stations

EIGHT garda stations are to close in Clare and the county’s garda districts are being halved, following the findings of a review of the garda district and station network announced by Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan on Wednesday.

Clare has four garda districts, which had each been headed up by a superintendent, atthey are Ennis, Kilrush, Ennistymon and Killaloe. On Wednesday, Commissioner Callinan announced these districts would be amalgamated into two, namely Ennis and Kilrush. While the stations in Ennistymon and Killaloe will remain open, they will lose district status and their superintendent will be transferred out. In South Galway, Gort and Loughrea, garda districts are to be amalgamated into one, based in Loughrea.

Also, as part of the plan, the following Clare garda stations are due to close: Quin, Inagh, Lahinch, Broadford, Mountshannon, Doonbeg, Kilmihil and Labasheeda. They are to be consolidated with other stations in their areas.

South Galway is also affected and closures include garda stations at Tynagh, Kilchreest, Shanaglish and Kilcolgan. Terryglass will close on the County Tipperary side.

Of the four current garda districts, there are just two superintendents remaining in the Clare area due to the recruitment embargo. Superintendent Derek Smart is attached to the Ennistymon Garda District and Superintendent Gerard Wall is attached to Kilrush Garda District. Inspector John O’Sullivan has been the acting district officer in Killaloe following the retirement of Superintendent Anthony Kennelly, while Inspector John Galvin has been the acting district officer in Ennis since the transfer of Superintendent Peter Duff this summer.

As part of the plan, the one garda who is attached to Quin Garda Station will now be transferred to Ennis Garda Station, the garda attached to Inagh will be transferred to Ennistymon, as will the garda attached to Lahinch. The one garda attached to Broadford will transfer to Ardnacrusha Garda Station, the one garda stationed at Mountshannon will transfer to Killaloe and the one garda at Kilmihil will transfer to Kilrush. There are currently no gardaí attached to Labasheeda and Doonbeg Garda Stations.
In South Galway, the one garda at Tynagh will transfer to Portumna and the one garda at Kilchreest will transfer to Craughwell. There are currently no gardaí attached to Kilcolgan and Shanaglish.

In his address on the 2013 Policing Plan, Commissioner Callinan said, “The current challenge for An Garda Síochána is to maintain public safety in homes, on streets and in public places, while operating in an extremely difficult financial environment. This requires making difficult decisions and hard strategic choices to meet public expectations.”

The garda district and station consolidation programme announced on Wednesday provides for the amalgamation of 28 garda districts nationally to 14 enlarged districts, the consequential realignment of an additional 14 garda district boundaries and the consolidation of 100 stations arising from the review of district structures.

The announcement, which was made on the same day as Budget 2013, represents the most fundamental restructuring of An Garda Síochána since the foundation of the organisation.

“I acknowledge that this programme will be challenging for both the public and indeed for my own members of all ranks. However, these are challenges we must face together. I am confident that there will be no diminution of service by An Garda Síochána. The revised structures will continue to support our community policing philosophy through the clustering of services at policing hubs. The centralisation of services will facilitate the introduction of an enhanced grid patrolling system that will be operational and intelligence led,” Commissioner Callinan commented.

When asked for comment on the changes, Clare’s Chief Superintendent John Kerin said he had no knowledge of the publication of these details and he was not in a position to comment at this time as he “wanted to study this and its implications”.

No date for implementation of these changes has yet been given.