Writes Leo McMahon
If it’s an emergency, phone 999 direct to Anglesea Street, Cork and ask for Gardai, said Superintendent Finbarr O’Sullivan at a recent well attended public Carrigaline Garda Forum in Carrigaline Community Complex.
He was replying to concerns expressed about the difficulty in getting through to Garda Stations in Carrigaline, Crosshaven and Passage West and explained that all 999 calls go direct to the central control call centre in the divisional headquarters at Anglesea Street serving most of the Munster area so there was no need to phone one’s local station first. The station at Carrigaline was open from 5 to 7pm each day and efforts were ongoing to recruit more personnel and extend the hours in all Garda stations but the emphasis was having officers out on patrol and on the beat throughout the Togher Garda district, which includes South Cork, who would be easy to contact and could reach an incident scene much faster.
A welcomed to the latest forum was extended by chairperson of Carrigaline Community Association Michael Wall who urged, with the summer approaching, the need for stronger legislation aimed at tackling the problem of adults buying alcohol and openly selling on to persons underage, sometimes from car boots. He also called for more Garda Reserves and street patrols during the night and for people to be wary of cold calling traders.
The meeting was addressed by public representatives Cllrs Jack White and Una McCarthy, Fine Gael; Cllrs Seamus McGrath and Municipal District chairperson Audrey Buckley, Fianna Fail as well as by fellow local election candidates Eoghan Fahy, Sinn Féin and John O’Regan, Labour.
Among the concerns raised were: 1) Recent house and car break-ins in Carrigaline and Crosshaven; 2) Anti-social behaviour fears, especially in estates and at beach resorts in summer months; 3) Proliferation of illegal drug dealing, some quite openly; 4) Dangerous and illegal parking at seasides; 5) Speeding in residential areas; 6) Under resourcing of Gardai for visible patrols, especially at night and 7) Difficulty contacting Gardai.
Cllr Buckley pointed out that she herself, along with some of her neighbours in the Church Bay area, Crosshaven, was a victim of a car break-in and was frustrated over the lack of resources and difficulty experienced trying to contact the Gardai even though Togher was a 24 hour station. She and other speakers also reiterated the need to strengthen co-ordination with Bus Eireann to deal with anti-social behaviour from drunken groups travelling on the Ballincollig-Cork-Crosshaven and Fountainstown 220 bus in the summer, including patrols and on-the-spot fines for public order offences.
The meeting then opened to the floor. A Crosshaven resident referred to late night noise and other problems resulting from a recent pop-up night club at Camden and asked if it had permission to operate.
Anti-social incidents
A resident of an estate off Kilmoney Road Upper, Carrigaline recalled an incident in February when around 40 youths were drinking on the road roaring and shouting in the early hours in the course of house party there with some running amok over garden fences and trying to break into cars as two Gardai did their best to herd them away and get them on to the bus. It was the same again around 5am when stragglers left the house.
‘As a resident born and bred in Carrigaline, I find this hard to take and embarrassing. There are two issues here. A lack of boots on the ground and that 220 bus which is the best and worst thing that’s happened in this area because it’s connecting to everywhere and is a huge concern. I’m proud of where I live but I want to see action’, he stated.
A resident of Heron’s Wood, Carrigaline related to a recent incident when some of her family were awoken to find three men in balaclavas outside their dwelling who when told to leave by their husband, made a threat to return and do damage. ‘I was terrified in my own house and tried five times to phone the guards in Carrigaline and Togher but spoke to them at Anglesea Street the next day’. At this point, Supt. O’Sullivan gave his advice about phoning 999 immediately in such emergencies.
Speeding issues
A Waterpark resident asked when the whole of Carrigaline would be a 30 kilometres per hour speed limit town due to the problem of speeding.
Speeding at Hilltown and Ballyorban off the N28 Ringaskiddy road was highlighted by a householder who said it was being used a rat run by some workers in factories down the harbour making it unsafe for locals to exit their homes, walk and cycle to and from school etc. A residents’ group had been set up because some of the driving was reckless. Garda Leonard O’Sullivan replied that it might be possible to get ‘Go Safe’ to do a site survey and assign a speed van there if the location was suitable.
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