Fianna Fáil TD for Galway East Anne Rabbitte has slammed the government’s approach to law and order in County Galway as figures from the Department of Justice reveal the county received 36 probationer Gardaí from January 2015 to January 2019.

 Deputy Rabbitte commented:

I have been calling for an increase in our Garda force for years. This Fine Gael government have abandoned rural Ireland. The effects of their policies have a detrimental effect on my constituency as our Garda force is drip-fed new Garda personnel over the past four years.  In rural Ireland, people can feel vulnerable and their concerns increase when they do not notice a Garda presence in the area.The figures make for alarming reading. Only 36 new recruits have been assigned to the Galway division since 2015.  This is unacceptable. I know from attending Joint Policing Committee meetings that at least 41 new Garda recruits are urgently required in Galway alone.

 Deputy Rabbitte appealed:

There is a major lack of resources in the western region. Despite having a new divisional headquarters in Galway we have no Garda dog unit and low Garda levels. In the wider region, Mayo has only received 18 new recruits since 2015, and in Roscommon-Longford only 18 were assigned. Since 2015 the west has been ignored in terms of policing and not provided with adequate resources.I will be raising my concerns with the Minister for Justice to ensure the western region gets it fair share of security resources.