Galway to get fleet of new Garda cars

Galway Gardaí can expect the delivery of up to two dozen new patrol cars before Christmas to combat roving criminal gangs of thieves who prey on rural communities.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald confirmed this week that an additional 260 new Garda vehicles will be purchased before the end of this year to beef up An Garda’s ability to tackle rural crime and particularly burglaries.

The expectation locally is that Galway Gardaí will receive between 12 and 24 of the new vehicles due to the size of the county, the rural nature of Galway and the increased motorway connectivity to the city and county, which makes access and getaway easier for roaming gangs from Limerick and Dublin.

The new fleet of cars, including Audis and BMWs, motorbikes and vans is part of a €5.3 million investment announced by Minister Fitzgerald on Tuesday and is in addition to the 370 extra Garda cars that have already come on stream this year as replacement for decommissioned Garda vehicles.

Minister Fitzgerald said the investment will support Gardaí to carry-out more “visible and responsive” patrols of motorways and rural areas, increased surveillance of criminal gangs, and enhanced public order policing at night.

She said the announcement is “is proof positive of this Government’s determination to ensure that the Gardaí have all the necessary tools at their disposal to tackle the scourge of highly-mobile criminal gangs.”

Government backbencher, Galway West Fine Gael TD, Seán Kyne has been told by the Department of Justice that the breakdown of the allocation of the vehicles for each Garda Division has not yet been finalised.

“The allocation will be made on the basis of need and demand. The allocations are expected to be announced in the next week or two. I obviously will be making representations that Galway gets its fair share of the allocation because it is a large county with a large rural landscape. Galway is also well served by motorways and it’s important that these new high-powered Garda vehicles are deployed to target mobile criminal gangs,” said Deputy Kyne.