Call for targeted recruitment of gardaí into Mayo

MAYO Aontú TD Paul Lawless has commented on the government’s continued failure to address the spiralling garda recruitment and resourcing crisis in the county.

The situation is now so critical that garda units from Westport and Claremorris are regularly called on to cover for Castlebar, leaving entire regions with a depleted garda presence, he said.

“This is not sustainable,” Deputy Lawless commented. “We are watching a proactive community policing model disintegrate before our eyes due to a lack of manpower.

“Regular units are a fraction of what they once were in Mayo. We have reached the point where Castlebar, a major population centre, is regularly covered by Claremorris and Westport station such is the lack of numbers in the regular units.

“The stark reality is that Mayo has received just one new garda recruit in the last three years, despite a growing population and rising demand for visible, community-focused policing.”

Deputy Lawless raised the issue with the Taoiseach in the Dáil yesterday.

“The Taoiseach’s response was astonishing,” said Deputy Lawless. “He acknowledged that there were issues regarding morale and staffing throughout An Garda Siochana but said he is not responsible for operations.”

He added: “There is a real lack of willingness from the government to address the issues in the force. Neither the Minister for Justice nor the Taoiseach are willing to get stuck in and sort out what is a worsening crisis for towns and villages across Mayo.”

Deputy Lawless warned that without urgent intervention, public safety and garda morale will continue to deteriorate.

“Policing shouldn’t be run like musical chairs, pulling gardaí from Westport or Claremorris to plug the gap in Castlebar, and hoping no emergency arises elsewhere in the meantime. This is reactive, chaotic and damaging to community safety.”

Aontú, he said, was calling for immediate and targeted recruitment into Mayo, along with action to retain existing gardaí and reduce the endless administrative burdens pulling them away from active policing.

“The Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, needs to engage with the Garda Representative Association and stop siding with the Garda Commissioner. There’s no point spending money on flashy TikTok recruitment campaigns if they aren’t going to sit down with the rank-and-file gardaí and address the core issues.”