Elderly people living in rural parts of Ireland are becoming “prisoners in their own homes” due to fear of being targeted by criminals.
As Gript previously reported, Independent Cllr. for Roscommon, Anthony Waldron, said that the closure of rural Garda stations was making the problem worse, adding that some residents were so frustrated by the situation that they were considering “taking the law into their own hands”.
Waldron had requested to meet with Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, saying that “urgent action is needed” in order to tackle the problem.
Speaking to Gript, Roscommon local Pat McCann, said that elderly people like himself felt they were “prisoners in their own homes” due to fear of being the subject of break ins.
He said that criminals do not fear the law, and that lax prison sentencing was adding to their confidence.
“The number of Gardaí aren’t available,” he said, adding that this was bolstering the confidence of thieves who he said had little fear of being punished.
He said that overcrowded prisons meant that even when burglars are sent to jail they are in some cases “in one door and out the other,”.
“I have to say that in my old age, I’m afraid,” he said.
“I’m a senior citizen, I obey the laws, I expect protection, but the protection isn’t there,” he said.
Former cathaoirleach of Roscommon County Council, Michael Scally from Ballaghadreen says, “You hardly ever see a gard in our town”.
He said that local Gardaí have to check-in for duty in Castlerea, and that this meant it can often take over an hour for authorities to arrive when an incident occurs.
Scally, a retired school teacher, says he has personally been the victim of crimes where money was stolen from his house.
“Of late our area here has suffered a huge amount of robberies from robbers who are not local to the area,”.
He says that rural houses and farmyards have borne the brunt of these crimes where “huge amounts of tools and equipment” have been stolen.
“We’re living in fear,” he said, adding that a “huge influx of non-Irish people” into the town had added to a growing sense of alienation among residents.
“We don’t know who’s living in the town,” he said.
Pub owner, Sinead Flannagn, told Gript of how she witnessed a man wearing a balaclava breaking into her family’s business in Castleplunkett at 3:30am in the morning last September.
She said she witnessed this through the window of her home where she lives with her elderly mother and father.
“I didn’t want to go near them because I could see they had crowbars,” she said, adding that she knew “there wasn’t much in the pub that they could get” and that she “left them to it” in fear of her safety and the safety of her family.
Flannagan said she called the Castlerea Garda station only to be told that there was no car available as it was out on another call “a good 20 miles away”.
She said that she was advised to dial 999 and that a car was dispatched from Galway which arrived approximately 45 mins later, by which time the thieves had driven away.
She says she then called her brother who lives beside the pub with his two young children to warn him of what was happening.
She said that a BMW arrived on the scene at which point two other men emerged from the side of the pub and spoke to the first man she had seen before going back towards the pub.
Flannagan said that after initially leaving the scene, the car returned and left again before reappearing carrying more men.
She said that this time she saw the thieves going into the back of the pub.
A short time later, she says a Garda car arrived and gave chase but was unable to apprehend the thieves.
She said she believes this is because the driver of the Garda car was the sole occupant of the vehicle and was powerless to stop the gang.
Those who spoke to Gript say that they do not blame the Gardaí for the situation, but cited a lack of provision of resources to the force at a time when the population is growing.
The issue of Garda recruitment and retention numbers has been a cause for concern nationally in recent years.
As Gript previously reported, recent Garda recruitment campaigns have resulted in significant indications of interest, with the 2022 campaign attracting 11,000 applications to join the Gardaí and the 2023 one attracting just under 5,000, these have not translated into sufficient numbers of new officers being sworn in to offset outgoing Gardaí.
Despite over 2,400 new recruits being sworn in during those 5 years, significant numbers have been lost to attrition due to resignations, retirements, suspensions, and more, resulting in a net reduction of officers.