Brennan fears for garda son
“Everyday I fear what my son, who is a guard, is going to come up against. The government are saving money, but their not saving lives,” Councillor Ben Brennan told a meeting of Laois County Council, last week.
He was speaking during a debate on the closure of local garda stations and the reducing number of guards in the county.
Cllr Tom Mulhall had put forward a motion at the meeting calling on the Minister for Justice to ensure that the number of guards does not go below 13,000, the he re-instate the training programme at Templemore and acknowledge the genuine concern of people as a result of the high incidences of rural crime, in particular burglaries and how he propose to tackle these issues.
But Cllr Mulhall said a lot had happened since he had submitted his motion for the meeting.
“An act of cowardice has since left a young family without their father,” he said referring to the recent murder of Det Gda Adrian Donohoe in Louth.
“This has not just happened over night, it is since the IMF came in, the Trioka are telling us where to save money. I have no doubt that more stations will close. We also need to train our guards, We can’t just put someone in a uniform and send them out. We won’t have replacements in a few years time.
Refering to Det Donohoe, Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald described it as a “horrific and evil murder.”
“But if anything has come out of it, it is the regard people have for An Garda Siochana,” she said.
Cllr Fitzgerald was critical of the Minister for Justice and how he treated An Garda Siochana. She said it was frightening for the wider garda family to see what could happen
“A local station is local knowledge, local intelligence and trust. It’s disgraceful what’s happening and the morale is very low as a result.”
While Cllr Willie Aird said he was having more enquiries from people looking to get into the Sue Ryder assisted living.
“A couple in their 60’s came to me recently to get in, they are in fear in their own home.”
He said councillors would also see an increase in electric gates when they go canvassing for the next election.
“I used to think it was snobbery when I saw electric gates, but now the amount of people who have them or are saving for them and it’s all part of security.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Portlaoise
Friday 24 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 7 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South
