‘Rural Ireland now a playground for gangs’

Political indifference has turned rural Ireland into a playground for criminal gangs and drug lords.

The claim was made by Renua Ireland leader Cllr John Leahy who said “the only response to rising crime has been closing Garda stations”.

He said: “This has created the situation where, be it in the West, the Border, or the Midlands, the people are under siege from thieves and drug warlords intent on expanding their empires.