Kerry village demands more policing after break-in at Garda station

Criminals targeting a rural village have hit a "new low" — by breaking into a local Garda station.

The incident occurred in Ardfert, near Tralee, where locals recently demanded extra garda cover after a 73-year-old shopkeeper was raided three times within two months.

Jimmy Collins is said to be still shaken by the incidents, the last of which occurred on January 22.

The Ardfert station is opened for an hour every day and Justin Horgan, a nephew of Mr Collins, yesterday repeated a call made after the last break-in for the restoration of a full-time Garda service.

“I won’t say ‘I told them so’ but we’re flabbergasted by the latest incident — a new low has been reached with a break-in at our local station. Where is it going to end?”

Mr Horgan, a publican in Ardfert, which has an urban population of about 800, said he was not blaming the gardaí, who were being forced to manage with reduced resources.

Two men in their 20s, both locals, were arrested yesterday in connection with the midweek break-in at the Garda station and were questioned at district headquarters in Tralee. Items taken from the station have been recovered.

Nationally, Garda numbers fell by 1,700 between 2009 and 2014 while the population increased by 150,000 in the same period, Mr Horgan said.

“More gardaí are being assigned to Dublin and the east coast while rural areas are being cut back. It’s the Government’s fault.”

At one time, he added, Ardfert had a sergeant and two gardaí, but the service was gradually cut back to the point where they had a part-time garda working out of the district headquarters in Tralee.

“The bottom line is we have to get gardaí back into rural communities and we want a full-time local garda back,” he said.

The break-in at Ardfert station took place between 1am and 7.30am on Wednesday.

Gardaí said it appeared entry was gained by forcing a rear door and there was no other damage. The station is open one hour a day, from 4pm to 5pm, Monday to Saturday and closed on Sundays.

Tralee gardaí 066 7102300, Garda confidential line 1800 666 111.