Taoiseach hails allocation of 48 new gardaí for Cork city

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he warmly welcomes the arrival this week of 48 new gardaí in Cork, adding it will make “all the difference” for high-visibility policing in the city.

The allocation consists of 36 garda graduates, or “probationers” as they are known in the force, and 12 transfers.

“It’s the highest number of new allocations in a long time and it will facilitate greater visibility, which many people in the city have been requesting for a very long time,” Mr Martin told The Echo.

“I’ve been strongly pushing for additional gardaí for a long time, and also the stronger sense of visibility, and the Garda Commissioner [Justin Kelly] was very clear when I met him in Templemore that Cork was going to be the next location for the high-visibility initiative they piloted in Dublin.”

Plan

Assistant Garda Commissioner Eileen Foster said she was delighted to launch the Cork city high-visibility policing plan.

“Forty-eight additional gardaí have been assigned to the Cork City division, which will support this high-visibility policing plan,” she said.

“These high-visibility foot patrols in Cork city centre increase garda visibility and offer public reassurance that public realms and amenities are, and continue to be, safe places to live, visit, socialise, conduct business, and enjoy.”

Chief Superintendent Tom Myers, head of policing in the Cork City Garda division, paid tribute to local stakeholders, who he said had long lobbied for a greater allocation of garda resources.

“The city council, Cork Business Association, Cork Chamber of Commerce, local representatives, and the former joint policing committee were all very supportive in us getting extra guards for the city,” he said.

“It’s not just about the guards, because we want to make Cork city a safer place, we want people to come to the city, to enjoy the city and its amenities, we want people to be able to live in the city.”

Reassurance

Fianna Fáil councillor Fergal Dennehy, Lord Mayor of Cork, said seeing the new gardaí out on the streets was providing a sense of safety and reassurance to the people of the city.

“When I was elected lord mayor in June, I mentioned how I wanted to work to make Cork the safest city possible,” he added.

“These gardaí will make Cork a safer city and I am delighted to have played a role in achieving this.”

Fianna Fáil councillor Terry Shannon, chairman of the Cork city local community safety partnership, said the arrival of the new gardaí demonstrated the commitment of Mr Martin to investing in policing in Cork.