This article is from page 33 of the 2013-01-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 33 JPG
A MAJOR shake-up in the way that policing is operated in Clare was announced in December with the news that eight Garda Stations were to close around the county.
Stations in rural areas such as Quin, Inagh, Lahinch, Broadford, Mountshannon, Doonbeg, Kilmihil and Labasheeda were named for closure while it was also announced that both Ennistymon and Killaloe District Garda Headquarters will be downgraded.
Former Superintendent, Frank Guthrie, who is now involved with the Inagh Housing Association said that there was some concern in the village about the new arrangement.
“A lot of people, especially older people, favour the old-style policing and confiding in their local garda. They felt safe. The meeting is really to see how this will be dealt with,” he said following the news.
The changes will see the garda serving in Quin reassigned to Ennis, the gardaí in Inagh and Lahinch moved to Ennistymon, the Broadford garda will now be based in Ardnacrusha, the Mountshannon garda will be based in Killaloe and the Doonbeg garda will be working out of Kilrush Garda Station.
Labasheeda and Doonbeg stations were provided with a garda from Kilrush every weekday from 10am to 1pm and at the weekend from noon until 2pm. These stations will also close.
The Chairperson of the Lahinch Community Council welcomed the closure of Lahinch Garda Station, saying the station was already “virtually closed” and the town would be better served from Ennistymon.
Donogh O’Loghlin believes that the closure of Lahinch Garda Station will not have an effect on the safety of the local population.
“I am not really concerned by the closure of the station. It is a beautiful building but I think it has been more or less closed for years already,” he said.
“It should have been closed years ago really. The local people here don’t have any idea when there will be a garda present in the station or not, so what is the point of having it there? There are 30 guards stationed just two miles out the road in Ennistymon. That should be enough.”
Clare Labour Party National Executive Member Seamus Ryan called on the Government to rethink the course of action.
“While the Commissioner is operating under the same financial constraints as so many people and the Government, it is short-sighted on the part of the force to abandon these facilities in favour of patrols and cover from other stations, some of which are up to 20km away and are themselves part-time and up to 25km to a 24-hour station for communities like Mountshannon,” he said.