Fianna Fáil TD for Wexford and General Election candidate James Browne says his party will establish a Rural Crime Bureau and will ensure Gardaí have the necessary resources to undertake their duties, if elected to government. He says the new unit will crack down on burglaries, drugs, anti-social behaviour and violent crime in rural communities.

“Communities across Wexford have been left feeling unsafe as a result of the depletion of local garda numbers and resources, combined with the rising threat of drug gangs and violence.  Since the reopening of Templemore in 2015, fewer than 100 new recruits have been assigned to the Wexford Division.  Last year not one graduate from Templemore was stationed in Enniscorthy”, said Deputy Browne.
“The fact of the matter is that we are simply not keeping pace with the number of retirements and transfers, and Wexford is losing out,” said Deputy Browne, who added; “Our local Gardaí are under increasing pressure and they simply do not have the support and resources needed to tackle the problem.  We need to boost Garda numbers in Wexford, and we need to equip our local Gardaí with the resources they need to tackle the increasing prevalence of drugs and antisocial behaviour.  We need a specialised unit within An Garda Síochána to target the unique policing issues in more rural communities.”

Deputy Browne told WexfordToday.com that Fianna Fáil is the only party proposing to set up a specialised unit within An Garda Síochána tasked with improving the safety and security of rural communities. 

“We will also restore garda numbers in Co. Wexford, boosting the force nationally to 16,000.  We will cut through the red tape to ensure that communities can draw down funds to establish community CCTV.  We will install CCTV at strategic locations to deter antisocial behaviour and drug dealing. We will increase the powers of the Gardaí to deal with antisocial behaviour by including new Public Space Protection Orders, Disperse Orders and Community Protection Orders. This will strengthen the links between the Gardaí and our towns and villages.”