This article is from page 10 of the 2006-05-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
THE Mayor of Ennis believes the only thing that will curb serious crime is to increase garda presence on the streets.
Councillor Frankie Neylon said it is not acceptable for someone to take out a knife and stab an innocent passer-by in broad daylight, as happened in the case of David O’Loughlin.
He was jailed for four years at Ennis Circuit Court last week for stabbing Anthony Conlon, at Harmony Row, Ennis, on June 30 last year. The attack occurred a stone’s throw from Ennis Garda Station.
“Anybody who takes it upon themselves to stab someone is just not acceptable,” he said.
“You don’t expect anybody to stab someone outside a garda station, or outside a hotel, or wherever.”
He expressed concern that knives are being carried around town and said this appears to be some people’s “daily routine.”
“When it comes into the town, you have to be able to deal with it. We are very short of gardai on the ground,” he said.
“We should be looking at some way of ensuring visitors to our town would be healthy while they are here and that they leave healthy. If you want to curb this, you have to have gardai on the streets,” he pointed out.