Crime Prevention
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-27
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Maurice Quinlivan (SF), Limerick City

I spoke on CAST earlier. I have also been in contact with stakeholders in the community and I assure the Minister of State the concerns I raised with him today are echoed by most people in the community. Frustrations are building and many feel the Garda response has not been adequate against these criminals. Having said that, I believe the gardaí in Limerick are doing the job in some of the most challenging of circumstances, and more supports and resources are needed for them.
I recently spoke at length to people with first-hand and direct knowledge of this feud. They are good people who have given so much to the community. They noted families are sleeping in shifts, whereby some sleep while others guard the front door and monitor CCTV cameras. They do so due to the threat of petrol bombs or worse being fired or lobbed at their homes. This is no way for anybody to live. I have also been contacted confidentially by several local parents who are not letting their children go to school because they are worried they may be injured, beaten up or whatever on the way to school.
The violence, drug dealing and organised crime is not exclusive to this part of the city but we are seeing a pattern in Limerick. It is a pattern that sees gardaí intensifying their efforts in one area, leading to re-emerging criminal elements in other parts of the city. For instance, when we focus on Ballinacurra Weston, it means people in St. Mary's Park and Garryowen tend to see little or zero Garda presence.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-27/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:01+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-27