Justice Minister refuses to meet Athlone councillors on policing issues

Justice Minister Helen McEntee has turned down a request from councillors in the Athlone area for a meeting with her to discuss their concerns about policing in the locality.

Over recent months, council representatives have aired a number of concerns around the level of Garda cover locally and the restructuring in the force which left Athlone without a Superintendent with specific responsibility for policing in the area.

On foot of requests from the members, the Athlone Moate Municipal District wrote to the Justice Minister, and to the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, seeking a meeting to discuss their concerns.

A reply that was received from Minister McEntee's office was read out at the March monthly meeting of the district last week.

The letter stated that the Minister could not meet with the members due to her busy schedule and also because Garda operational issues were a matter for the Garda Commissioner.

There was better news for the councillors on their request for a meeting with Garda management to discuss CCTV provision in the Athlone area.

District Administrator Frank Dolan told the meeting that "the Superintendent's office did contact us, and they wish to give a presentation on CCTV in the Athlone area at the April meeting" of the district.

Last October, Cllr Aengus O'Rourke argued that the CCTV cameras in use in Athlone were "no longer fit for purpose".

He said that the CCTV system in the town was now about 15 years old, and hadn't kept up with technological advances since then.

"Unless technology is updated, reinvested in and maintained on an ongoing basis, you end up with a system that doesn’t work properly and ultimately, needs to be scrapped. We are at that point with the current Garda CCTV system in Athlone," Cllr O'Rourke said at the time.