Local Fine Gael TD Emer Currie said that her constituency of Dublin West is being policed “on a shoestring.”
Speaking in the Dáil last week, Currie said, “despite being one of the busiest districts in the country, we are struggling with dangerously low Garda numbers.”
Per Currie, Blanchardstown, Finglas, Cabra and thfe K district have just one garda per 529 people and recorded 8,200 crimes last year.
The garda figures on the Northside stand in contrast to those on the Southside: in Ronanstown and Lucan, there is one garda for every 3,200 people and 4,200 crimes were logged in the area last year.
Currie took issue with the DMR South Central region gaining 60 gardaí, yet the DMR West area lost 15, highlighting that in the most recent round of garda allocation, it gained seven extra gardaí compared to the five received by Dublin West.
The Fine Gael TD noted that Dún Laoghaire received 20 extra Gardaí, 12 were allocated to Dundrum and eight were allocated to Blackrock.
While acknowledging that garda allocation numbers were a decision made by the Garda Commissioner and not by the government, Currie said, “if the policy framework is leaving particular communities behind, that policy becomes a political issue too.”
In response to Currie’s comments, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said, “there is no policy framework leaving anyone behind, let us be frank about it.”
The Taoiseach said, “the policy framework is to dramatically increase recruitment into An Garda Síochána and training in Templemore, and that is happening.”
Martin said that the Templemore Garda College just saw its biggest-ever intake of 220 recruits, with 200 gardaí graduating this year alone.
“What is happening is that, progressively, bigger numbers are being allocated to particular areas to deal with those areas rather than allocating smaller numbers all over the place. That policy has had an impact on the city of Dublin. There is far greater visibility and a greater sense of safety in the city centre. That is being done now in other centres across the country.”
Martin stated that garda numbers will increase in the DMR West region, saying, “the strategy is working, but it takes time and patience. That is the issue, really.”
In response to Currie’s charges, Sinn Féin TD Paul Donnelly said, “you can’t make this stuff up – Fine Gael have been in power since 2011, yet she is bemoaning the fact that Dublin West hasn’t enough Gardai!”
“But sure, Emer wants you to believe it’s not the government’s fault,” he remarked.