Responding to the shooting of a teenager girl in Ballymun last night, co-leader of the Social Democrats and local TD, Róisín Shortall has called for the full restoration of Garda numbers in Ballymun.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t hear a report of a burglary, drug dealing, or serious anti-social behaviour. The fact is many local people don’t feel the Gardaí can keep them safe anymore.”
Responding to the shooting of a teenager girl in Ballymun last night, co-leader of the Social Democrats and local TD, Róisín Shortall has called for the full restoration of Garda numbers in Ballymun.
Deputy Shortall explained:
“Last night’s incident is the third instance of gun crime in the area in the past few weeks. While we do not know the circumstances that led to these events, they are part of a wider pattern of increasing criminal activity in the area.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t hear a report of a burglary, drug dealing, or serious anti-social behaviour. The fact is many local people don’t feel the Gardaí can keep them safe anymore.
“Last May, I received figures from the Gardaí which revealed the number of sergeants stationed in Ballymun has been halved, from 24 at the end of 2010, to just 12. This is completely inadequate, and stretching the Gardaí resources in the area to their limit.”
The figures released to Deputy Shortall indicate that between 2010 and February of this year, there has been an overall drop of 16% in the total number of Gardaí in the Ballymun Station:
“Most of the Gardaí we’ve lost are from the Community Garda Service that people would normally meet on a day to day basis. These are the sort of Gardaí that are vital to building trust in a community. While Garda numbers have finally begun to rise once more, they are nowhere near their pre-cut levels and we are seeing the impact of this on local communities.”
Deputy Shortall concluded by saying:
“Thankfully, reports this morning have indicated that the victims injuries are not life threatening, and hopefully they will make a full recovery. However, unless the Minister for Justice steps up to address this issue, I believe we will continue to see incidents like this into the future.”
-Ends-
10 August 2018
Notes to Editor:
Table of Garda numbers in the Ballymun station by grade from December 2010 to February 2018.
| YEAR | Garda | Sergeant | Inspector | Superintendent | Chief Super | Assistant Commissioner |
TOTAL |
| 2010 | 100 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 128 | |
| 2011 | 91 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 113 | |
| 2012 | 96 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 118 | |
| 2013 | 94 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 118 | |
| 2014 | 88 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 114 | |
| 2015 | 97 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 124 | |
| 2016 | 93 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 117 | |
| 2017 | 93 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 113 | |
| 2018 | 90 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 108 |