Connacht Tribune
Galway’s Garda chief makes war on drugs his top focus for year ahead
MORE Garda resources will be directed to the growing problem of illegal drugs sales and movements across Galway city and county, according to Garda Chief Superintendent, Tom Curley.
Chief Supt. Curley told the Connacht Tribune that given the scale of drugs seizures across the county – and the increasing number of ‘drugs driving’ cases – the extent of the problem should not be under-estimated.
“We work very closely with our national units and other state agencies, but I do believe that we [An Garda Siochána] will need to put even more resources into this aspect of policing.
“Of course, this is not just a Garda issue – it’s a far bigger problem for society at large. Only for the demand is there for illegal drugs, then the criminal gangs simply wouldn’t have the ready market available to them for the sale of those substances,” said Tom Curley.
He also pointed out that there were increasing concerns about the numbers of drivers who were testing positive for drugs – mostly cannabis and cocaine – which obviously had major implications for safety on the roads.
“We’ve had a lot of successes in terms of drugs seizures and also in relation in operation conducted with CAB (Criminal Assets Bureau) with our Divisional Drugs Unit very active over the past year, but it’s an ongoing battle,” he added.
Chief Supt Curley said that while the drugs market was being driven by younger people there was also now a demand for cocaine across a broader spectrum of people including usage in private settings where detection would be far more difficult.
As well as the issue with drugs driving, Gardaí he said also had major concerns over the ‘hardy annuals’ in relation to road safety such as drink driving, speeding, mobile phone use and the non-wearing of seatbelts.
“At the end of the day, almost every accident that occurs on our roads is preventable, but yet day-on-day, we see people who drink and drive; who speed excessively; who take risks with dangerous overtaking manoeuvres; who don’t wear their seatbelts and who are on their mobiles while at the wheel.
“These are all in breach of what I would describe as the absolute basics for safety on the road. We have come across drivers with iPads or tablets on their steering wheels as they drive along – it really does defy all logic and common-sense,” said Tom Curley.
He warned that road accidents with horrendous consequences can happen in the blink of an eye with a driver’s full attention needing to be on the road at all times.
For almost two years, the work of Gardaí has been pretty much dominated by Covid with members of the force involved in a lot of frontline work.
“We had very serious concerns about maintaining personnel levels if a lot of our members had gone down with Covid but thankfully this hasn’t happened – however, the pandemic has presented a lot of practical difficulties for us,” he said.
The Chief Superintendent said that in terms of property crimes such as thefts and burglaries there had been a notable decrease in those during Covid, with more people working from home, meaning that there were less opportunities for thieves to strike at unoccupied locations.
“On the other side of that coin though, there has been an increase in the incidence rate of domestic violence since the start of Covid.
“We have a specialist protective services unit in place while all members of the Gardaí are also acutely aware of the importance of responding to domestic violence situations.
“If you are the victim of domestic violence – or if you have worries about someone who could be in a vulnerable situation – my advice is to make that call to the Gardaí who will check out such reports thoroughly,” he said.
Another major concern, he said, for Gardaí was the number of people who were duped out of money in cybercrime operations where victims ended up giving their private banking details to gangs who had given the impression that they were from legitimate financial institutions.
“I cannot emphasise this enough: never, ever give out your private banking details in reply to a text message. Your bank will never look for that kind of information from you but unfortunately people are still being scammed on a regular basis,” he said.
Another area of concern, he added, for Gardaí was in relation to public order issues and especially in the larger urban settings where members were reporting increasing instances of abusive behaviour from people on the street – often alcohol fuelled and late at night.
“We know that we have to earn the respect of people with our actions and responses but there definitely have been more incidences of abuse being directed towards Gardaí in recent times.
“Having said that, I would also like to put on record, that the vast majority of the general public have been most supportive of Gardaí – their co-operation and positivity towards us, has been very encouraging.
“Like everyone else, we in the Gardaí are looking forward – hopefully – to a better year in 2022 in terms of issues with Covid-19, and we must all be guided by the public health advice.
“It is also encouraging to see that a very active campaign for new Garda recruits will get underway in 2022, and like any organisation, we need younger people and fresh blood coming into our ranks,” said Chief Supt. Curley.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
