Garda overhaul ‘will see additional feet on the beat’

More community Gardaí will be assigned to towns across Galway under the ongoing roll-out of the State’s new policing model.

Under the new structure, Galway Garda Division will have two community engagement hubs – one in Galway City at Millstreet, and one in either Loughrea or Ballinasloe.

Each hub will be assigned community Garda superintendents, and they will ‘feed into’ what were the old Garda District headquarters of Clifden, Tuam, Loughrea and Gort.

Garda Chief Superintendent Tom Curley said a new community Garda will be assigned to Salthill, and Oranmore was in line for a new permanent community Garda also.

Permanent community Gardaí will be stationed in Tuam, Clifden, Loughrea, Gort and Ballinasloe, he said.

Chief Supt Curley said there would be at least ten additional Gardaí assigned to community policing in the Galway Division, and more inspectors and sergeants.

An update on the new policing model, which has been unveiled previously, was given by Chief Supt Curley at the latest Galway City Joint Policing Committee meeting.

He rejected suggestions that Connemara was not covered by the new community policing plan.

Cllr Pauline O’Reilly (Green) said a community engagement hub in the city and either Ballinasloe or Loughrea only, meant that, “Connemara will be left behind”. Cllr Owen Hanley (Soc Dems) said there was a “huge gap” for community policing in Connemara.

“Definitely not,” replied Chief Supt Curley, who added an inspector will be assigned to Clifden Garda Station, who will have an input into policing of Gaeltacht areas including Ros Muc, An Cheathrú Rua, An Spidéal and Indreabhán. Clifden and the Connemara Gaeltacht will be included in all monthly meetings with the community engagement superintendents, he said.

He pointed out that he has assigned Gardaí to stations in rural County Galway that had no Gardaí for some time, including Corofin, Milltown and Milltown.

The ‘job description’ of the new police is being drawn up, he said, but they will have a “dual role, not just community Gardaí”.

Asked by chair of the JPC, Cllr Niall McNelis (Lab) if he had adequate staffing levels to roll-out the new model, Chief Supt Curley said he was “over 90% staffed, which is very good” but he would continue to lobby for more. “I’m not shy when it comes to looking for resources and I’ll continue to do that,” he said.

As Gardaí are deployed to community policing there will be a ‘back fill’ that needs to be filled.

He acknowledged that no new Gardaí were assigned to Galway in the latest passing out ceremony from Templemore but he was confident Galway would get more graduates in the next round, as well as some more established Gardaí reassigned from around the country.

Under the new policing model, the number of Garda Divisions has been reduced from 29 to 19. Galway Garda Division has been left as Galway City and County, and not joined to any other county, which was “a good thing”, said Chief Supt Curley.

After 96 years, he said it was time for An Garda Síochána to change because communities have changed, crime has changed and the workforce has changed.

As part of the overhaul, Galway had been chosen as a pilot for the new policing model and so it is already well advanced with a civilianisation of the Force, he said. For example, 999 calls are now answered by civilians stationed at the new North Western Regional HQ and Divisional HQ at Murrough in Renmore in the city. “When you’re doing something for 37 years, and you have to change, then you have to bring people with you,” he said adding that the new model was “all about the frontline”.

Cllr Eddie Hoare (FG) said the new policing model was a “good news story”.