This article is from page 2 of the 2006-08-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
TWO of the county’s tourist hotspots are to get extra Garda resources, amid concerns regarding public order issues.
The Clare People has learned that an extra garda is to be allocated to Lahinch and another to Miltown Malbay on a full-time basis from within weeks.
This follows local anger and claims that insufficient Garda resources have been made available to the areas, where populations increase dramatically during the summer months.
Householders in Lahinch were terrified after what they described as a “near-riot” broke out in the early hours of the morning a month ago.
Rocks were thrown through windows, bottles were smashed on the streets and several rows took place on the town’s Main Street, as revellers spilled out of the discos.
Locals in Miltown Malbay signed a petition earlier this year calling on Justice Minister Michael McDowell to allocate extra gardaí to their town.
The recently reformed Active Retired Association (ARA) pointed out that that the number of gardaí in Miltown Malbay was less than half the figure stationed there 20 years ago.
One garda retired three years ago and had not been replaced, they said.
Gardaí in the Clare Division have been invited to apply for the new posts, before the closing date of August 10, and the appointments will be made within days of this date.
Clare Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn confirmed that the gardaí being deployed to those areas will be taken from existing resources in the division.
“We are monitoring the public order situation on an ongoing basis.
“It is always a concern to us. We are responding to the need,” he said.
Residents in both areas have called for at least two extra gardaí, to which Chief Supt Quinn said, “in relation to peak times, extra gardaí are drafted in.
“It is not a case of one extra garda.”
Lahinch Community Council chairman Donogh O’Loghlin welcomed the announcement, but said, “we need more than an extra garda.”
He is calling on gardaí and fire officers to liaise when taking into account the amount of people permitted on licensed premises, given that the main problems emerge at closing time.
“It should be part of planning that fire officers should consult with gardaí, if they can increase numbers, taking into account the numbers that can be policed on the streets.
“Unfortunately somebody is going to be killed,” said Mr O’Loghlin.