Meeting hears calls for greater Garda resources and training facilities

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

Two motions before the November monthly meeting of Sligo County Council heard calls for the local authority to correspond with Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan seeking greater Garda resources to be made available in the region and for Sligo to be considered as a location for additional Garda training to compliment the college in Templemore.

Outlining her motion to the meeting, Cllr Edel McSharry called for an increased allocation of Gardaí to Sligo county to ensure adequate policing levels and she also called for improved pay and conditions for Gardaí to make the service more attractive for recruitment and retention.

Cllr McSharry said she wanted to acknowledge “recent progress” noting that the policing numbers increased by 4.1% in the Sligo/Leitrim district. However, she noted, “We are coming from a very low base. We have lost 21 Gardaí over a decade.”

Cllr McSharry stated pay conditions “are not competitive” and referred to the “outdated conditions in Sligo Garda Station” saying, “We are asking too much of people who are supposed to protect us.”

Cllr Donal Gilroy’s motion focused on training resources noting that the Garda training college in Templemore is close to capacity he suggested additional training facilities could be provided in an alternative location, such as Sligo.

"We need a lot more here, we need a lot more nationally. We need a lot more nurses, a lot more doctors. I think there should be a second Garda training college, Templemore is at capacity. You have to go back to do a two week bicycle training course, a six week driving course. That is all done in Templemore. Maybe they could move some of the training to somewhere else, like Sligo.”