Connacht Tribune
Garda Commissioner is set for a grilling at County Galway meeting
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris will come under severe pressure to allocate more resources to rural Garda stations in the county during a visit to Galway next month.
The arrival of the country’s highest-ranking Garda to the County Galway Joint Policing Committee (JPC) in September coincides with the roll-out of a controversial new policing plan for Galway – a plan that has already been savaged by local politicians.
Commissioner Harris can expect a backlash from Councillors on the JPC who will demand more Gardaí are allocated to the Galway Division before the reorganisation of the Force is implemented.
“May he not be coming to give us explanations for a policy that isn’t acceptable,” fumed County Councillor Shelley Herterich Quinn (FF).
Describing the visit to County Hall as a “PR (public relations) thing” for Drew Harris, Cllr Herterich Quinn insisted that JPC members did not want him coming to Galway “to be ‘mansplaining’ this policy”.
“That is not what we want. We want more boots on the ground,” said the County Galway JPC member.
Under the new changes to come into effect by September, there will be three ‘functional areas’ within Galway.
These new ‘Community Engagement Areas’ will be headed by a Superintendent; one in Galway City, one in Galway County East and one in Galway County West.
The Superintendent for County West will be based in Oranmore Garda Station, and will be responsible for all of Connemara, which up to now was led from Salthill.
This element of the reorganisation has caused disquiet among local politicians and within the Garda organisation.
Cllr Herterich Quinn said it was wrong.
“The fact that Oranmore Garda Station will be responsible for Connemara is not sensible policing. It is very irresponsible policing and is putting undue stress on existing Garda members, it’s diluting their power and what they can do in our areas,” she said this week.
She has written to JPC members to highlight how Galway needs additional Gardaí.
Cllr Herterich Quinn listed a number of recent crimes which she claimed has caused concern in the Athenry/Oranmore area she represents, including: petrol bombs thrown at a home in Ballydavid; a couple attacked in their bed in Athenry; open drug dealing on the streets of towns and villages; and anti-social and criminal behaviour.
“In Athenry, we’re supposed to have five Gardaí in the station. We have one on a good day. We’ve gone from five to one, or none some days, and that’s replicated all over the county. It’s not reasonable for Drew Harris to come to us in September and explain to us this policy.
“I know a lot of Gardaí are working night and day and doing their absolute best but we don’t have enough of them. I just don’t want Drew Harris to be coming here and thinking he’s going to be getting off easy by explaining the policy to us. I want my colleagues to hold him to account and justify it. I don’t know how he can justify having fewer Gardaí.
“Oranmore is as stretched as every other station so I don’t know how he can justify stretching the resources of Gardaí locally out as far as Connemara. It’s a retrograde step and is retarding policing in the county,” said Cllr Herterich Quinn.
Galway Garda Chief Superintendent Tom Curley is on record as saying that the sweeping changes to the structure of An Garda Síochána in Galway will be positive. But he conceded that in order for the reorganisation to work, then Galway needs an additional 55 to 60 Gardaí on the ground in communities, including in Connemara and in city areas like Knocknacarra.
Chief Supt Curley said that the ‘Community Engagement Areas’ was the final piece of the jigsaw of reorganisation as part of a modernisation pilot programme that was started four years ago.
Cllr Herterich Quinn demanded more Gardaí for Galway.
“Criminal elements are aware of the lack of boots on the ground. This new policing model that they intend to roll out is just exacerbating that,” she added.
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.
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Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
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