An open letter to the justice minister: Dear Minister,
The introduction of the new Garda policing model has, to a great degree, been an abject failure.
The recent CSO figures bear this out. According to CSO figures, burglaries increased by 10%, thefts by 7%, kidnapping by 16%, weapons and explosives by 11%, and public order offences by 3%.
While there was a reduction in drug offences, other crimes like assault and harassment increased.
This is down to the failure of Garda management and the Government of the day to admit that they’ve got it wrong and that it is time that they actually listened to the people on the ground who are at the coalface of policing or are the victims of crime and not the usual opinionated, unqualified, and far removed observers who sit in their pristine offices advocating a pristine form of policing in a perfect utopian world.
This transformation of policing, and this model, has not worked. The hierarchy so entrenched in their views have disengaged with communities far and wide in this State and have allowed morale in the force to hit rock bottom.
The introduction of Garda hubs and portfolios, the reduction in Garda districts, the increase in supervisory promotions in order for these new hubs to work, and the closure or semi-closure of Garda stations, will not enhance any aspect of policing. It will increase the the workload of those on the ground and the consequences of these changes will not only put gardaí but the public at large at risk.
It will reduce Garda visibility in rural areas while increasing numbers in large urban areas like Dublin. Senior officers in divisions are worried that with the introduction of new Garda hubs etc, they will not have the resources to execute the policies or directives coming from Garda HQ.
Why won’t the powers that be admit that they’ve got it wrong?
Listening to politicians in Government talking about increasing Garda resources as part of the programme for Government, while recruitment, retention, and vetting have been a constant problem within the force, will not achieve the impossible of recruiting 5,000 gardaí by 2030. In my own Garda division of Donegal we received one probationer for the whole county, a county that has seen Garda numbers shrink by 12% while the population increased by 5%.
One does not have to be a mathematical genius to figure out that with an increasing population that has grown to over 5.1m citizens, policing numbers must increase commensurate with those numbers.
The Garda model in place before the introduction of this new model wasn’t perfect but it was a damn sight better that what we have now.
It is not too late to turn back and reintroduce the tried and trusted Garda model that was there for nearly a century, and that was boots on the ground; proper full- time community engagement; the reopening and staffing of rural stations; incentives for gardaí living locally in the areas where they work; a more streamlined approach to Garda disciplinary processes, proper counselling programmes for gardaí who attend major incidents or are involved in major public-order disputes; a recruitment campaign that is not seen as a rush to get any type of candidate to join the force, with the the reintroduction of standard height, along with proper age and fitness levels, and senior officers on the ground brave enough to challenge the status quo.
Who is brave enough in senior Garda positions or in Government to say enough is enough, let’s get back to the tried and tested model of proper Garda policing and community engagement?
Christy Galligan, ret garda sergeant & PC, Letterkenny, Co Donegal
Waiting for next move by Russia
I totally agree with British prime minister Keir Starmer when he said on Saturday that Russian president Vladimir Putin would “sooner or later” have to “come to the table” regarding the implementation of a ceasefire agreement.
It could be argued that Putin wants to keep everything that he has stolen from Ukraine.
I have no doubt that he will have the chutzpah to expect to be able to tell a country what decisions it can make about its own future. This is not a recipe for peace.
Putin appears to be obsessed with the good old days of the USSR and his deep distrust of the EU has fuelled this. I can’t see Ukraine agreeing and capitulating vis-a-vis handing over to Russia anything close to what is going to make Trump feel good. Sadly, this has become a waiting game as we now await Russia’s next move.
John O’Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary
A day to celebrate Ireland’s diversity
Since St Patrick was ‘trafficked’ to these shores in 432AD, many more immigrants have followed throughout the ages, but especially so in recent decades.
While they may not be attributed, as in the fable of Patrick’s contribution to our tribe, they also bring “strange names” amongst us and, for too many, a similar experience of oppression.
Most significantly though, the overwhelming majority bring a diversity of qualities, uniquenesses, and identities that have enriched the tapestry of being Irish, which parades throughout the country today will testify.
So on this St Patrick’s Day, I am thankful to the diversity of kids in my grandchildren’s school who will give them a perspective on the world that I never experienced; to the man from Moldova who, at the appointed time, arrived and fixed my ‘digital blackout’ after Storm Éowyn; to the young woman who cares devotedly for a family friend in poor health; and to the theatre nurse whose gentle Pinay voice soothed the prodding insertion of my cannula as she prepared me for an operation in the Mater Hospital.
Today is their day too!
Michael Gannon, St Thomas Sq, Kilkenny
Praying for a ban on hare coursing
I was thinking today of ‘The Deer’s Cry’, the prayer for protection against evil, attributed to St Patrick. In the 21st century it has been cited in environmental awareness campaigns, especially those focusing on how man’s relationship with nature has broken down. Consider the sad plight of Ireland’s wildlife; the scant protection afforded to the creatures of field and forest from unsaintly folk intent on killing or tormenting them for fun.
Patrick’s alleged role in banishing snakes from Ireland can now safely be discounted, since we know that they didn’t occupy any part of the Emerald Isle during his earthly sojourn.
I’d give more credence to the legend about his intervention to save a stag from a band of marauding hunters. It says he offered sanctuary to the deer, which was on the point of dropping from exhaustion after a long chase, and prevented the hounds from ripping it apart.
That has a ring of truth to it because almost all the Irish saints, with St Brigid being the best exemplar, were noted for their love of animals and nature.
I hope Patrick, if he’s watching above, will “bestow a sweet smile” on the efforts of Jennifer Whitmore TD when she moves her bill to ban hare coursing. Whatever about snakes, our native hare was present on this island, and in greater numbers than today, in Patrick’s lifetime, having been around since before the Ice Age of 10,000 years ago and possibly for up 60,000 years before that.
Many great days for the Irish lie ahead, but one of them will be the day when we finally end the persecution of this animal feted in Celtic song and folklore. Politicians with forked tongues want coursing to continue, but most of us, I believe, want it banned. We should offer our iconic Irish hare the protection from harm invoked in that great prayer of St Patrick.
John Fitzgerald, Callan, Co Kilkenny
Flowers are still blooming sublime
I had the great good fortune to see Hothouse Flowers at Cork Opera House on Friday night. These guys have spent their lives watching sky and sea change colour, hypnotised by the beauty of it all. For a sublime two hours, 1,000 people moved as one.
It was my 51st birthday. I’m getting old but I still go to the movies. There must be portraits of Liam Ó Maonlaí and Fiachna Ó Braonáin mouldering in an attic somewhere. These guys can still make the ground (and your sternum) shake. What a wonderful night. And what an opening act. A harpist, no less. Achill’s Laoise Kelly. By the time she was finished, we were “away with the fairies” and recovering the teanga. Congrats and thanks to all involved at Cork Opera House.
Michael Deasy, Bandon, Co Cork
