Reopening Leighlinbridge Garda Station will strengthen law enforcement and protect communities in Carlow – Deering

Fine Gael TD for Carlow, Pat Deering, has welcomed the announcement that Leighlinbridge Garda Station will reopen under a second round of re-opening of Station announcements.

“I spoke to the Tánaiste, Frances Fitzgerald, this morning after the Cabinet meeting and she informed me that Leighlinbridge Garda Station is to reopen.

Deering said, “This is a most important measure that will be warmly welcomed by many in the local community including local Fine Gael Councillor, Michael Doran, and Chairman of the Carlow Joint Policing Committee who also worked to secure the re-opening of the station. It is a great step towards strengthening law enforcement and protecting Carlow communities.

“I have stressed to the Tánaiste that proper resources need to be made available in light of this welcome news to reopen Leighlinbridge Garda Station. The Station needs to be properly resourced with Garda personnel, Garda cars, other vehicles and equipment.

Deering added “I commend the Tánaiste for the investment put into the Gardaí in recent years. 800 new Gardaí are to be hired and trained in 2017 and a total of 3,200 new Gardaí will be recruited over the next four years.

“Since the launch of Operation Thor, burglary crimes have decreased significantly and there have been approximately 4,000 arrests connected to a range of offences.

“A new round of community CCTV schemes are designed to combat rural crime and we are further investing in the Seniors Alert Scheme which provides support for older people living alone.
We will also continue to support the Neighbourhood Watch and Text Alert Schemes to support and prioritise community crime prevention.

Deering concluded “We are investing €330 million, including €205 million under the capital plan, in Garda ICT infrastructure between 2016 and 2021 and I will continue working to ensure Carlow benefits from this investment and in that regard it is extremely welcome that the Garda Station is to reopen.”