Concerns about impact on communities from Garda 'downgrade'
From this week's Galway City Tribune - The restructuring of An Garda Síochána in Galway will have a detrimental impact on communities blighted by social issues, a Garda source has said.
Speaking to the Galway City Tribune, the source said areas such as Salthill and Knocknacarra will suffer an immediate reduction in the level of service they receive.
But the restructuring would be like a ‘slow-release bomb’, and as anti-social issues arose in the future in areas such as Knocknacarra, the required focus to tackle them would not be there, they said.
As part of the changes, Salthill will lose its superintendent and its former area – taking in the direct surrounds in Salthill as well as Knocknacarra – will be, for administrative purposes, subsumed into Mill Street.
The Garda source said Knocknacarra was one area that would be significantly hit as its 20,000-strong population continued to grow.
“This strategy doesn’t take into account what is going to happen in the future. Areas on the east of the city, such as Ballybane, were always the areas most associated with social issues and that’s where Mill Street and its superintendent focused their resources."
Meanwhile, the Salthill business community has raised concerns over the forthcoming downgrading of its local station.
In a note sent to the six local area councillors this week, seen by the Galway City Tribune, the Village Salthill group described assurances that the service available to the area would not be affected as ‘hard to swallow’.
This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read the rest of the story, see the July 8 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.