Cabinet Committees
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-16
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Louis O'Hara (SF), Galway East

I too raise Garda numbers. Only four of 566 new Garda recruits this year have been allocated to Galway and all four went to Galway city. In recent weeks, there was an announcement of 28 new gardaí for Galway city and Salthill but none for stations in county towns like Athenry, Loughrea, Gort and Tuam. These are stations that have not seen any meaningful increase in Garda numbers in years. Assurances have been given that rural towns and villages will see an increased allocation but it has not happened. Across County Galway, there are ongoing issues with rural crime and antisocial and criminal behaviour in towns and villages. This is causing an awful lot of misery for people and I am being contacted regularly by residents about serious issues and by people who do not feel safe because of the lack of a Garda presence in our areas. Athenry, which is a growing town of 5,000 people, does not even have a full-time Garda station or Garda presence. It is totally unacceptable. When are stations in rural east Galway going to see increased allocations to ensure we have an adequate Garda presence in our communities?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-16