Squad cars could not travel in snow

GARDAÍ were not able to respond to a rape victim in Donegal during the treacherous weather last Christmas because their squad cars were not fitted with snow tyres.

A garda had to use his own 4x4 vehicle to travel to meet the woman and take her statement following the ordeal.

Sergeant Paul Wallace, based in Letterkenny, revealed details of the case at the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) in Limerick.

‘’We had a major difficulty coping with the snow [last December],” said Sgt Wallace.

“We were given snow socks to put on our tyres. They are fine for heavy falls of snow, but on hard packed ice you need snow tyres, like other police forces have.

“Around Christmas, a victim made an allegation of rape.

“But we were unable to get to the victim because of the weather conditions. A member had to use his own private car to get to her and take her statement.”

Sgt Wallace said gardaí increasingly had to use their own private vehicles in order to carry out their duties.

“If a person is in peril or in difficulty, their first call is to the gardaí. When we get the call we have to have the ability to respond.”

Sgt Wallace said about 110 of the 20,700 fleet of garda vehicles were 4x4s, which equates to less than 4%.

“The majority of the 4x4s are in Dublin, only about 30 are throughout the rest of the state,” he said.

Meanwhile, the sergeant at the centre of the Roscommon “House of Horrors” incest case received an award for his investigation that led to the prosecution of the parents in the case, who sexually abused and neglected their six children.

Sgt John Hynes received a Garda Excellence Award for his work.

“I don’t think we’ll ever know the full extent of what those children suffered. They were able to relay the abuse suffered at the hands of their parents when the access was taken away from their parents. We were able to gain their trust.”

Sgt Hynes said the children, the eldest of whom is now 22 and the youngest is 12, are getting on well with their lives.

Their mother was jailed for seven years in January 2009 on 10 counts of incest, sexual abuse and neglect of her children. Last year, her husband was handed a 14-year-sentence after he was found guilty on 47 counts of rape.

“We all know how innocent children can be. To take advantage of that innocence and ruin their childhood is the worst thing that could happen. There is very little sympathy for them [the parents], this is the most heinous crime that can be committed on a human being,” Sgt Hynes said.

He said he wanted to dedicate his award to the six children, who he described as the “real heroes”.