Extra gardai promised to fight crime in Limerick, say local politicians

TWO local politicians have said they expect 20 new gardai to join Limerick’s ranks in the coming weeks.

Willie O’Dea, who held face-to-face meetings with Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan on the matter, and metropolitan district leader, Cllr Daniel Butler, who met senior gardai in the city, have both confirmed the news, and given a big welcome to it.

“It’s a significant and timely development for our city and its communities, and it reflects the importance of ensuring visible, effective policing throughout the metropolitan area,” said Cllr Butler.

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He is hoping as many of the new recruits as possible are focused on the core city centre area, which in recent times, has seen an upsurge in antisocial and criminal behaviour.

Mr O’Dea, himself a former Minister of State at the Department of Justice, pointed out that if the allocation of new gardai was done in the normal way - in terms of by head of population - Limerick would have ended up with only a handful of new officers.

“I think an important line has been crossed here, where we have got away from this pro-rata thing, and we are directing gardai to where the real problems are,” said Mr O’Dea.

“We all know there are not sufficient gardai in Limerick at the moment to deal with the rising crime we have here,” he added.
It’s not clear precisely where in the city these gardai will be stationed - that will be a decision for senior members of the force

The Department of Justice wrote in a statement the precise numbers of new gardai for Limerick will be confirmed this month.

They pointed to Mr O’Callaghan’s visit to the city, where he met with local gardai, community, business groups and public representatives.

“He saw first-hand the excellent work An Garda Siochana do on the ground, often under difficult circumstances. He assured them, and other stakeholders of his continued commitment,” a spokesperson added.