‘Law and order is slipping away’ in Tipperary, TD warns
There is a feeling that “law and order is slipping away” in Tipperary, according to one of the county’s TDs.
Fine Gael TD Michael Murphy raised the issue in the Dáil and said that residents and business people across many of south Tipperary’s major towns don’t feel safe due to a lack of garda presence.
“Across many of our key towns, including Clonmel, Tipperary, Carrick, Cahir, Fethard and Cashel, people are telling me they no longer feel safe.
“Businesses are witnessing open drug dealing in prime retail areas, families are increasingly concerned about antisocial behaviour and criminal gangs operate with increased confidence,” Deputy Murphy said.
The deputy recounted a scenario where a Clonmel person tried to ring their local garda station more than 20 times without a response.
“People believe the only way of getting assistance is by dialling 999. I want to be absolutely clear: this is not a criticism of the men and women of An Garda Síochána serving on the ground.
“Every interaction I have with them tells me they are working tirelessly, but under enormous pressure,” he said.
The county needs more gardaí, he added, saying that despite hundreds of new gardaí graduating from Templemore, Tipperary gets very few.
“The programme for Government rightly speaks about balanced regional development, yet when it comes to Garda resources, there is nothing balanced about the current approach.
“This year, 356 recruits graduated from Templemore, and just two came to the entire county of Tipperary,” the deputy said.
According to Deputy Murphy, 245 of the 356 recruits were assigned to Dublin - more than 70pc of the total.
“When retirements and transfers are taken into account, Tipperary has effectively experienced a net loss.
“Since the division restructuring was introduced in 2020, Garda numbers across the Tipperary-Clare division have fallen from 725 to 660,” Deputy Murphy said.
In response, Employment Minister Peter Burke said that responsibility rests with the Garda Commissioner to decide where gardaí are allocated.
“There are significant incentives for gardaí to move, which is facilitated through the new rules and should help people to return close to their areas. This should help rural communities,” Minister Burke said.
Deputy Murphy called on the Minister to organise a meeting with all three south Tipperary TDs to review the allocation model.
Minister Burke said he would raise the issue with Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan.
“We will do everything we can as a Government to support and ensure rural communities are safe,” Minister Burke added.