Call to reinstate east Mayo garda station's full-time status due to crime surge
A LOCAL election candidate has called for the immediate return of Swinford Garda Station to a 24/7 service to the community.
The station had been open round the clock prior to its amalgamation with Claremorris District in 2014.
The call for its return to full-time status has come from Fine Gael local election candidate Antoinette Peyton.
In a statement, she said: “Recent criminal activity in the area has once again drawn into sharp focus the need to do this. The recent terrifying break-in and robbery that an elderly farmer in my area was subjected to is an outrage and cannot be tolerated. There was also another violent attack made on a home in the Charlestown area recently.”
Ms. Peyton also that although the return of Swinford Garda Station to a 24/7 service would not guarantee the elimination of this kind of criminality, it would act as a major deterrent and greatly assist in apprehending those involved, should incidents occur.
The area is very open, being well serviced by national primary routes such as the N5, the N17 and the N26, allowing for easy access and quick exits for travelling criminal gangs, she said.
Commenting on the number of garda stations in Mayo, Ms. Peyton highlighted how there are only five garda stations in the county that are fully open - Westport, Castlebar, Claremorris, Belmullet and Ballina, with a further 14 stations having such restricted opening hours that their ability to service the community was negligible, she commented.
Swinford Garda Station was in good order having undergone a major and costly refit and refurbishment in 2012, less than two years before the amalgamation with Claremorris, she said.
The amalgamation has created too vast an area for effective policing as it stretches from Headford in Co. Galway to Doocastle on the Sligo border. Even taking the most direct route by car via the N84 and the N17, it’s an hour and 30 minutes travel time.
The reason given at the time of the amalgamation was that it was a cost saving measure at a time when the country's finances were in a difficult place during the recession.
Ms. Peyton said assurances were made at the time that the tighter control of scarce resources would allow for increased foot and vehicle patrols, which do not appear to have materialised.
Ms. Peyton continued: “Circumstances have now changed and policy should change in light of that.”
She welcomed Minister for Justice Helen McEntee’s announcement of a €2.3 billion garda budget for 2024, the highest in the history of the State, and the government's commitment to increase garda numbers from their present level of approximately 13,940 to 15,000 and then to keep building the numbers in the years ahead.
“There are now seven per cent more gardaí in Mayo than at the time Swinford station was downgraded,” she noted.
Ms. Peyton called on the Justice Minister and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to urgently review and make the decision to return Swinford Garda Station to its proper status.