Sinn Féin Councillor for Laytown/Bettystown Municipal District, Maria White, has strongly criticised the Government’s decision to allocate just three additional Gardaí to East Meath, describing the move as an insult to communities who have been crying out for proper policing resources for years. Cllr Maria White said: “This government has consistently failed the people of Meath year after year through chronic under-resourcing and underfunding of An Garda Síochána in our county. I have seen Government TDs and Councillors attempt to welcome the allocation of three additional Gardaí to Ashbourne as a major success. Let’s be absolutely clear, three Gardaí for the entire area of East Meath is nowhere near sufficient. It is tokenistic and it does nothing to address the scale of need on the ground.
“County Meath is one of the fastest growing counties in the State, yet policing numbers have not kept pace with population growth. Communities have expanded dramatically, but Garda resources have not. That simply defies rational explanation.
“Laytown, Bettystown, Julianstown and Duleek are all placed within the Ashbourne Garda District. Residents living in these towns are expected to rely on a station over 30 kilometres away. That is not good enough. Communities cannot continue to depend on overstretched Gardaí travelling long distances to respond to incidents. Laytown Bettystown urgently needs its own fully operational, fully resourced Garda Station, one that is open to the public for more than a measly four hours a week.
“People in East Meath know the reality of a lack of Garda visibility and community policing. Residents regularly raise concerns about anti-social behaviour, road safety, rural crime and response times. Three additional Gardaí will not resolve these issues.
“East Meath deserves fair treatment. Our growing communities deserve proper investment in public safety. I will not stay silent when Meath continues to be treated as an afterthought. The Government must urgently commit to a substantial increase in Garda numbers and deliver the policing infrastructure, such as the development of a fully functioning Garda Station in Laytown Bettystown, that our communities both need and deserve.
“Public safety cannot be managed on the cheap. The people of East Meath deserve more than token gestures, they deserve real action” she concluded.
