Gardaí took 7 hours to reach vulnerable disabled person in west Dublin

Local Sinn Féin TD Paul Donnelly has raised serious concerns about the lack of Gardaí in his constituency of Dublin West.

The Dublin West TD told the Dáil he had to make a direct call to senior members of the Garda after failing to get a response from 999.

Donnelly made the first call to 999 at 10:30am after concerns were raised about a vulnerable disabled person who was living alone and his service manager was concerned after not receiving an answer after knocking on the door and making phone calls.

Donnelly relayed that the local GP made a call to 999 and was told that there were no Gardaí available, while the service manager also made repeated calls to 999, and local Sinn Féin councillor Angela Donnelly was also unsuccessful in making contact with 999.

Only after the Sinn Féoin TD made direct contact with senior members of the Gardaí in Blanchardstown at 5:30pm did the issue get rectified.

Donnelly said that the incident was an “absolutely shocking response” and commented that Tánaiste Micheál Martin “waffled” in response to his concerns in the Dáil.

Micheál Martin said that he would raise the issue with the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner, to which Donnelly said “there was no unit available.”

Martin replied “the Deputy said there was no response to the 999 call,” to which Donnelly retorted “a response is somebody going to the person’s door.”

Martin said he would “seek” a full report from the Garda Commissioner on the issue.

Donnelly said the situation was “disgraceful.”

The lack of Gardaí in West Dublin was one of the major issues raised on the doorsteps at the local election, with local Social Democrats councillor Cat O’Driscoll noting that whenever a major head of state visits President Higgins in Phoenix Park, gardaí from Cabra garda station get drafted in as a relief station and acts as back-up.

She told a public meeting in May “should a member of the garda station be needed, no one would be there to pick up the phone.”

A February report from the Irish Times showed that 135 gardaí left the force between January and December 2023 despite major recruitment efforts by the Department of Justice, including raising the age limit for joining from 35 years old to 50.