Concern over garda numbers voiced in Roscrea

Asylum seekers also discussed at meeting

On Friday night, November 17, Roscrea Stands Up held a public meeting in the Muintir na Tíre Hall in Roscrea.

Michael Lowry, TD, was present and there were apologies from the other Tipperary TDs, Martin Browne, Mattie McGrath, Jackie Cahill and Alan Kelly.

Among those who attended were local councillors Michael Smith, Shane Lee and Eddie Moran. Brendan O' Connor was present, representing local Sinn Féin, while there was an apology from Councillor Noel Coonan.

The agenda for the meeting, with four items up for discussion, was as follows: “An update on the Dean Maxwell Home”; “An update on the Roscrea CCTV project”; “The low numbers of gardaí currently stationed in Roscrea, and the future of Roscrea Garda Station” and, “Antisocial behaviour in Roscrea”.

Deputy Lowry told the meeting that currently the Dean Maxwell Home was going through the due diligence process; he also said that he recently met with Maria Bridgeman, Head of the HSE for the Midwest, who told him that the home was operating at full capacity at present.

There then followed an update on the Roscrea CCTV project. The meeting was informed that Tipperary County Council were currently formulating a policy on CCTV cameras for all of Tipperary; it’s hoped to have future information for the next meeting.

ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

There then followed a discussion about the antisocial behaviour in Roscrea. The meeting was in full agreement that our gardaí in Roscrea were doing their best with very limited resources.

The subject of the lack of gardaí in the town and the future of the local station were discussed at length. Mr Lowry stated that he had met with the Minister for Justice. He had left her in no doubt about the lack of gardaí currently stationed in Roscrea.

Although the issue of the influx of asylum seekers was not on the agenda, it was discussed at length. Many people present felt that Roscrea had been very welcoming to asylum seekers over the last couple of years, but the town had now reached a stage where it no longer has the services or resources to deal with the amount of people arriving from abroad to live in the locality.

Councillor Smith said that Ukrainian families have moved in at the former secondary school in the town. He made an emotional contribution to the meeting, referring to a comment that a young Ukrainian girl had made earlier in the week. The meeting concluded with agreement from all councillors and Mr Lowry to work together on solving the issues that were raised at the meeting.