Only One Garda Patrol Car Available In South Wexford This Summer - Codd

A local councillor claims just one Garda car is expected to patrol an area from Castlebridge to Kilmore this summer.

Aontu's Jim Codd says the policing of festivals in the south of county needs more resources.

He's calling for an increase in Garda numbers for Wexford and says officers should be supplied with body cams for their own safety.

Councillor Codd says visitors need to feel safe when attending events here:

"We've had the Killag show and the Kilmore Seafood Festival and there was just one squad car one of those nights covering from Castlebridge and Wexford down to Kilmore.

"We need more than that. I mean if something was to go wrong, and thankfully it hasn't and all those events ran smoothly but if we were to have a serious incident, we need to have more than one car."

Councillor Codd is now calling on The Minister for Justice Jim Codd to provide more Gardai for rural Wexford.

Extra policing around events to do with Ireland's position as head of the EU presidency, have placed a strain on Garda numbers across the country this summer.

Just 27 of the 193 Gardai attested in May were allocated to the Eastern Region which includes Wexford and 9 other counties.

Earlier this year, it emerged that Wexford has been impacted by staff cuts as Garda numbers have fallen by 2.4 per cent over the past year. 

Stations like Blackwater, Campile, and Courtown Harbour have lost their dedicated Gardaí, adding to concerns over reduced frontline policing. 

Councillor Codd says he understands the difficulties that come with the job and more needs to be done to support those who work to keep us safe:

"The Guards that we have are very very good but they're overworked and they've a very difficult job.

"They need body cameras because they're being recorded every time they open their mouth and that's being put online.

"We need more boots on the ground, we're being ignored down here and it's a serious problem."

South East Radio asked Wexford Gardai to comment on Councillor Codd's claim regarding the single Garda car being available to attend emergencies in the south of the county.

In a statement, Wexford Gardai advised us that "this office cannot comment on specific Garda resources in a particular area."

It added, "please be assured there are sufficient resources to  adequately police the Wexford South Community Engagement Function Area."

The Department of Justice says it's attempting to boost Garda numbers and ran another recruitment campaign at the start of the summer.

The Garda website in May claimed over 628 recruits were currently undergoing the training programme at the Garda College in Templemore and recruit classes are now entering the Garda College every 11-12 weeks.

There have been criticism levelled at the force for focusing too much on the larger urban areas like Dublin and Cork with many rural representatives accusing the Government of putting the cities first in terms of safety.

Councillor Codd agrees and says no matter where you are, you should get the same level of protection from our police force.

"There may well be more Guards in the system but they're certainly not in Kilmore.

"The community puts in such an effort and people travel from all over the country to attend our festivals so we need to feel like we have adequate Garda numbers on the ground."

That report was funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.