A Donegal county councillor has expressed serious concern over the impact of a proposed merge of the Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim garda divisions.
Cllr Micheal McClafferty, the Cathaoirleach of the Glenties Municipal District, said that rural Donegal is already struggling due to a lack of garda presence.
He said that amalgamating the Donegal division of the force with Sligo and Leitrim will do more harm than good.
In a statement, the Falcarragh representative said: “The gardaí are struggling to increase numbers on the ground and we have struggled in Donegal for many years now. Special units have been established to deal with specific aspects of crime, which is important, but it has left the numbers in rural areas light on the ground which severely impacts on the delivery of rural services to the public.
Cllr McClafferty said this issue has been brought to his attention on multiple occasions.
“Recent drug finds along our coast along with drug supply and the explosion of drug use in our communities, the massive transient population we experience due to our peripheral to Northern Ireland and large centres of population such as Derry, Strabane and Enniskillen set us apart from many other counties,” he said.
“I am asking Commissioner Drew Harris to leave Donegal as a stand-alone Garda division similar to Kerry as I believe it will serve the people of Donegal best for many years to come.”
Cllr McClafferty, who is also a member of the Joint Policing Committee, said that it’s important that gardaí can work in their local districts and interact with the public as much as possible.
He said: “Currently each Superintendent is responsible for his/her own district and with a healthy population of Gaelic speakers, particularly in west Donegal. I believe it is important to support our native language with a superintendent and rank-and-file members who can communicate with the general population through their preferred medium of Gaelic.
“Donegal is a county where Gardai of all ranks live and work in their communities and police with consent and I believe as a member of the joint policing committee that we will lose the confidence of the general public if Donegal is downgraded from a stand alone division. “
