Travelling gangs have left rural householders are living in fear to the extent that they are staggering their weekend Mass times to ensure the house is always occupied.

That’s what a public meeting was told last week; the meeting in Dowd’s in Glinsk was attended by more than 60 locals along with a number of public representatives as well as both serving and retired Gardaí.

“I have never seen such fear at the moment,” one resident stated at the meeting as concerns were expressed about the closure of rural Garda stations in the region.

Another local resident said that some families were taking turns going to Mass on Saturday evenings and Sundays with one person staying at home to mind their dwelling because of the fear of being burgled.

Ballinasloe area councillor Declan Geraghty said the system was broken — and he laid the blame for that at the door of the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Justice Minister Helen McEntee.

He said Gardaí were not being paid enough and they didn’t have enough equipment; they were under-resourced with not enough of members available to the public.

Independent Ireland TD Michael Fitzmaurice said that there was respect for Gardaí in the past – but this was no longer the case in some quarters.

“Now the first thing that’s put in a Garda’s face is a mobile phone camera,” he said.

He said there was insufficient prison capacity – and he raised concerns about the number of criminals getting free legal aid. He said suspects should be locked up until their court cases are heard, instead of being let out on bail.

The Glinsk TD said the legislation surrounding installing CCTV cameras was over the top. “Everyone is entitled to justice but anyone who raids a house is entitled to damn all,” he said.

He also strongly criticised Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, saying the regionalisation of the force hadn’t worked. He said that the provision of local Gardaí, with strong knowledge of the locality, was vital.

Ballinasloe Senator Aisling Dolan (FG) said some of the points raised were very important regarding rural crime.

She said the court system was stuck in the Stone Age, with paper-based records and Gardai spending hours waiting for a case to arise in court.

“If we could streamline the court process, we would free up Garda time,” she added.

She said homes and businesses in the area deserved the same protection as those in Dublin city.

The Ballinasloe Senator added that there was a need for more Gardai and that the profession needed to be made more attractive for students emerging from second level education.

A local serving Garda, speaking at the meeting, said he would agree with most of what had been said. He said Garda numbers had gone ‘horrifically low’. He encouraged those in attendance to share information with their community Gardaí.

Pictured: Cllr Declan Geraghty…system is broken.