Lack of gardaí in East Cork a cause of concern 

The large garda force mustered to break the fuel protestor blockade at the Whitegate refinery in East Cork belies a lack of day-to-day policing in the region which, according to local councillors, has led to stations being regularly closed and calls left unanswered.

Senior gardaí are being asked by the council to explain why there’s a major resourcing issue in Cobh, Midleton and Carrigtwohill.

There have been claims that patrol cars have been summoned from as far away as Youghal to incidents in Cobh – a distance of 42km.

Fianna Fáil councillor Dominic Finn said he has serious concerns about the lack of a garda presence in the Carrigtwohill and Cobh areas, which have a combined population of more than 30,000.

“I went to call to Cobh garda station recently and asked to speak to a garda, but no one was available. On one Monday the nearest garda car (available to attend an incident in Cobh) was in Youghal. There was nobody rostered for Tuesday (in Cobh). 

"On the Wednesday a garda was borrowed from Carrigtwohill, with the result there was nobody there. If something happened here where we have to rely on a patrol car coming from Youghal, we’re in big trouble,” Mr Finn said.

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Independent councillor Ger Curley, a former member of the navy, said at a recent Cork City v Cobh Ramblers match in Cobh there was trouble with fans clashing and no garda presence. “That’s not a good sight for our town and the Carrigtwohill station is closed most of the time,” he added.

Probably the most damming comments came Labour councillor Cathal Rasmussen, chairman of the county’s newly-formed community safety committee.

He said it took nearly 20 minutes for gardaí to respond to a serious incident in a Cobh estate – as they had to come from Midleton.

He said he advises people to ring 999 if they can’t get through to the station.

A garda spokesperson said: ‘Every hour that garda is required to remain inside a station to keep it open, is an hour that garda cannot be on patrol in their local community.’