The Garda Commissioner has said that the force in Co Donegal will not diminish under his watch.
Commissioner Drew Harris was addressing members of the Joint Policing Committee at County House in Lifford today.
The country’s top Garda came to Donegal following increasing concerns over the future of An Garda Siochana locally.
Despite being a “stand alone” Garda Division for decades, Donegal will now become part of the Northwest Division in future and will be joined by Counties Sligo and Leitrim with the new Chief Superintendent Aidan Glacken being based in Sligo.
However, Commissioner Harris said he was adamant that the force will grow in time and that he is fully behind investment in the force including investment in rural Ireland.
The overall majority of Joint Policing Committee members raised the issue of resources and about having Gardai on the ground in villages and towns in the county.
The issue of the Galway becoming the main telecommunications centre for Garda calls was also raised with the Commissioner.
However, Commissioner Harris assured members this did not mean there would not be a local response to calls.
“This does not mean there will be a breakdown in local connections. We will be keeping all local numbers. We are not going for a call-centre response. We are still committed to answering calls and turning up in person,” he said.
He added that he has a mandate to get the force up to 15,000 and stressed that An Garda Siochana is a “growing organisation.”
However, he admitted that due to the current “buoyant” job market, Gardai found the recruitment of people challenging.
Former local Garda Sergeant and JPC member, James Trearty, was blunt in his questioning of Commissioner Harris.
He said the reality was that life in rural Ireland was diminishing with banks and post offices closing and that An Garda Siochana was going in the same direction.
He referred to the closure of some rural Donegal stations saying “People have lost contact with local Garda Stations. They deserve a service as much as the people in Dublin Four do but they are not getting this service.”
He added that he simply did not agree with the new policing model.
Councillor Michael McBride said that people simply wanted to see Gardai on the ground.
He also said that it is a “disgrace” how local Gardai had been left without adequate resources such as enough patrol cars adding “It is impossible to ask rank and file members to do their job without the proper resources.
“The morale is pretty low. If we don’t give them the tools to do their job we are in trouble.”
He said that Gardai were “putting their life on the line” but that the wages were not adequate for many to live on.
Commissioner Harris said that in respect of many of the issues raised it was like “pushing an open door with me” because he was aware and working to address many of those issues.
He again reassured members that he was working towards recruiting members during ongoing recruitment drives to Templemore to put more feet on the ground.
