GoCar to reduce number of vehicles available in Limerick due to 'antisocial behaviour'

Car rental service move due to string of incidents caused 'significant damage' to its vehicles

GoCar said it had to 'make the very difficult decision to temporarily reduce the number of GoCars available in Limerick'. File picture

GoCar, one of Ireland’s leading vehicle-sharing services, has announced it will reduce the number of vehicles available in Limerick due to “anti-social behaviour”.

The car rental service released a statement after a string of incidents that have caused “significant damage” to its vehicles.

“Unfortunately, months of persistent incidents of antisocial behaviour have caused constant significant damage to our vehicles and placed an unsustainable strain on our operations," the company said. 

"As a result, we’ve had to make the very difficult decision to temporarily reduce the number of GoCars available in Limerick.

We know this will cause disruption to those that use our cars correctly, and for that, we’re genuinely sorry. Please rest assured that this is not a decision we’ve taken lightly.

“We're working closely with local authorities and An Garda Síochána to address the issues and are doing everything we can to restore full service as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding and for being a valued part of the GoCar community.” 

Earlier this month, Limerick’s metropolitan district unanimously agreed to write to justice minister Jim O'Callaghan, calling on him to brief the council on the future resourcing of policing in the city.

The motion was brought forward by Labour’s Pádraigh Reale, who said out of 120 gardaí who passed out from Templemore, 11 have been assigned to the southern region — with “only four” being assigned to the Limerick division.

The ongoing feud in the southside of the city was also brought up during the meeting.

This comes as three men were hospitalised following incidents of violent disorder and criminal damage on June 22 on Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston.

In recent months, several incidents have occurred on the southside of the city as a result of the ongoing feud.