Fine Gael TD Patrick O’Donovan has said that the positive engagement between the community of Askeaton and An Garda Siochána could be a model for the rest of the country. The Limerick Deputy was speaking after a meeting this week in Askeaton organised by the Askeaton Ballysteen Community Council to discuss policing in the area. The meeting was addressed by local Superintendent Tom O’Connor and Sergeant David Callanan. The meeting was told that almost every headline reported crime figure in the Askeaton District had halved in the last year.
Patrick O’Donovan said “I think that the meeting was very beneficial. It gave the Community and the Gardaí an opportunity to listen to each other. We got a full presentation of the policing plan for the Askeaton District and it provided a very clear picture as to how policing in this huge rural area is delivered effectively. The meeting together with the work which has gone on behind the scenes between the Community Council and the local Gardaí is something that should be done across the country. I believe that Askeaton is leading the way on this and I will be telling the Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald that Askeaton should be held out as an example of how to manage difficult changes in the delivery of modern policing.”
“I know through my constituency work that most people want to see an increased Garda presence. That’s why this Government re-opened Templemore after years of no recruitment to the Force. 300 men and women are now in training to become Gardaí and I have no doubt that they will make very fine additions to the Force. The suggestion from some that not all of those who have been recruited will continue on to pass out as Guards is unfounded and an attempt to play down the very significant decision by this Government to recruit members to An Garda Síochána. The reality is that we have re-started the recruitment process and we have no notion of stopping it like the last Government did.”
Patrick O’Donovan paid tribute to the Askeaton Community Council for bringing the issue to the fore and for making sure that the issue was discussed in a very constructive and reasonable way. “I know and appreciate that changes in policing are difficult. However the feeling from the meeting is that things have improved immensely in the area thanks to the dedication of the Gardaí. It’s clear from the people I spoke to that they are very pleased with the work being done and they are happy to move forward with the current situation in the area.”