Rural areas could be hit if garda cars aren’t replaced

Clare deputy and Fianna Fáil Spokesperson On Transport Timmy Dooley has claimed rural areas of Clare could suffer if the Government does not replace decommissioned marked garda cars.
Deputy Dooley claimed this week that “large numbers of marked patrol cars have been decommissioned after reaching their mileage limit and have not been replaced”, while he understands that more patrol cars are due to be taken off the road shortly with no commitment to replace them.
He has called on Minister Alan Shatter “to address the matter urgently” to ensure the necessary resources are provided to retain the current level of marked patrol cars in operation in each community.
“This is a dangerous situation. I have become aware of significant reductions in the number of marked patrol cars in rural areas. This puts communities that are already isolated at further risk of increased crime,” he claimed.
He stated that in Clare, “eight marked patrol cars for uniformed gardaí have been decommissioned and not replaced. This leaves 13 marked garda cars patrolling the entire county. Of those, a further nine have already clocked up between 250,000 and 293,000km so they are now also on the brink of being decommissioned.”
Responding to the claims, this week Chief Superintendent John Kerin of the Clare Garda Division confirmed, “An Garda Síochána in the Clare Garda Division has lost a number of official vehicles from our transport fleet over the past 12 months”.
“I can confirm that a number of others are quickly approaching the 300,000km limit, at which they will be removed from the fleet. This is certainly a challenge for management in the Clare Garda Division but is an issue which is not unique to Clare. The Garda Commissioner is aware of the situation and is actively attempting to obtain replacement transport for the entire garda fleet,” he said.
Superintendent Peter Duff of Ennis Garda Division added that the Clare Garda Division had been allocated five new marked Toyota Avensis garda cars in 2011 and following a traffic accident, one of those had been decommissioned.
He also accepted that cars will be lost due to the 300,000km limit but explained the cars are being moved and shared from station to station to ensure a garda patrol presence is maintained.
“The commissioners and chiefs are concerned about this and every superintendent is in the same situation and we are just trying to manage our fleet to provide the best availability working within the resources we have,” Superintendent Duff stated.
Deputy Dooley believes the lack of patrol cars “means the gardaí will not be able to respond to emergency call-outs in a timely manner. It adds to the fear of many families and older people, who are already concerned about the risk of crime in their communities. The visual nature of rural policing is particularly important. People feel safer knowing that gardaí are available to patrol their area and a visible garda presence dramatically reduces criminal activity.”
“It is a fact that in East and South-East Clare, gardaí on routine patrols have apprehended a significant number of individuals from Limerick city linked to organised crime. With a reduced number of patrol cars, the capacity for effective policing is reduced,” he claimed.
“This is another example of rural Ireland bearing the brunt of Fine Gael and Labour’s budget cutbacks. It raises more concerns about Minister Alan Shatter’s commitment to rural policing. He has already moved to shut down a number of rural garda stations across the country and reduce garda numbers in smaller communities. This issue must be addressed immediately,” he stressed.
The East Clare-based deputy said he accepted there was a need to cut public spending but believes reducing the garda presence in our communities “is a retrograde step”.