Connacht Tribune
Garda chief allays fears over policing revamp in Galway
Galway’s top Garda has moved to allay public fears about a loss of superintendents in Tuam and Clifden, which is part of an ongoing major shake-up of policing in the county.
Chief Superintendent Tom Curley has confirmed that Gort Garda Station will have its inspector restored as part of the modernisation plans for the Force.
Chief Supt Curley said the Galway Division was chosen as a pilot project for a new model of policing, which is the first major overhaul of An Garda Síochána in its close-on 100-year existence.
It has already resulted in large-scale civilianisation of the Force in Galway, which is freeing-up more Garda manpower to police in the community, he said.
Referring to criticism of the organisation by the Disclosures Tribunal, Chief Supt Curley said the force was “after getting a fair bashing, and rightly so” and this revamp was an attempt to change how communities are policed.
Under the reforms, a superintendent will be responsible for a couple of districts which will be known as ‘community engagement hubs’.
Salthill and Clifden Districts have been amalgamated into one ‘hub’ with one superintendent; the same is true for Loughrea and Gort and Ballinasloe and Tuam, which will lose its superintendent.
Chief Supt Curley was speaking at a public meeting of the County Joint Policing Committee in O’Sullivan’s Hotel in Gort last week, where he was responding to queries from Councillor Mary Hoade about fears in Tuam and surrounding towns and villages about the loss of a superintendent in North Galway.
Cllr Hoade said there were rumours and concerns in Tuam that its Garda station was being downgraded.
Chief Supt Curley said he’d love to have twelve superintendents, and to have a Garda on every corner, but he had to manage the resources that were available to him. He confirmed that he had six superintendents before the shake-up, and he will have six once it’s completed but two will be based in the new Regional HQ in Murrough on the Dublin Road in the city.
Responding to queries from Galway East TD, Anne Rabbitte (FF), and Councillor Joe Byrne (FG), Chief Supt Curley confirmed that Gort would be getting a new Inspector.
Tuam, Clifden and Ballinasloe will all have Inspectors, too, after it was agreed nationally more resources will be given to Galway – he has looked for 12 additional Inspectors.
He insisted there would be no negative impact on policing in communities as a result of the revamp, which was in fact designed to improve service to the public and have a greater presence of officers on the ground rather than stuck behind desks.
“The only difference for Gardaí in Tuam is where they send their papers to,” said Chief Supt Curley.
Deputy Rabbitte welcomed his assurances that an inspector would be appointed to Gort.
She referred to a front-page report in the Connacht Tribune in 2015, about the loss of Gort’s superintendent, which was viewed as a downgrading by the public. Deputy Rabbitte said Gort and Loughrea Garda stations covered a huge area, from Portumna Bridge to Kinvara Pier, and from Craughwell to the border with Clare.
Cllr Byrne also welcomed the appointment of a Gort inspector and said: “Hopefully it is a first step in the eventual appointment of a dedicated superintendent”.
The appointment of an Inspector “sends out a very strong message to the citizens of South Galway that the best possible policing is in place,” added Cllr Byrne.
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
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