Not enough traffic Gardaí to man congested junctions

Gardaí won’t be intervening in Galway City’s ongoing traffic congestion crisis – because of limited manpower.

Superintendent Pat McHugh of Salthill Garda Station said the strength of the local Roads Policing Unit (formerly known as the Traffic Corps) would have to be doubled if Gardaí were to fulfil a request by politicians for the city’s traffic lights junctions to be ‘manned’ twice daily at rush hour.

Supt McHugh indicated an extra 20 Gardaí would need to be hired – or redirected from other frontline duties – in order to have officers directing traffic at busy city junctions during peak times.

“We don’t have the manpower available even if we had the funding (for Garda overtime),” added Supt McHugh. He was speaking at the annual public meeting of the Galway City Joint Policing Committee (JPC) held in Westside Community Centre, in response to questioning from city councillor Peter Keane.

An emergency proposal, tabled by the Fianna Fáil councillor, was previously passed at a local authority meeting, which paved the way for Galway City Council to fund Garda overtime for the manning of four key junctions.
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