Cork Gaeltacht area without a garda sergeant for three years due to lack of Irish speakers

Currently, a garda sergeant based in Macroom, around 20 minutes drive away, is helping to cover the area

Fianna Fáil TD Aindrias Moynihan said the long-term absence of a garda sergeant in the Gaeltacht village of Ballyvourney was unacceptable.

A garda sergeant hasn’t been recruited to a Cork Gaeltacht area for three years because no Irish speaker has been available to fill the post.

This was just one of the many issues highlighted with recruiting gardaí in the county at a meeting of the Cork County Joint Policing Committee (JPC), which heard that large areas of the county have been left with critical vacancies for years in some instances.