East Cork garda stations regularly closed and calls not answered by gardaí, councillors say

Councillors have claimed patrol cars have been summoned from as far away as Youghal to incidents in Cobh — a distance of 42km

One councillor said: 'I went to call to Cobh garda station recently and asked to speak to a garda, but no one was available.' Picture: Eddie O'Hare

The garda force mustered to break the fuel protester blockade at the Whitegate refinery in East Cork belies a lack of day-to-day policing in that region, councillors in the region have claimed.

They say stations are regularly closed and calls not answered. Senior gardaí are being asked by Cork County Council to explain why there is a major resourcing issue in Cobh, Midleton and Carrigtwohill.

That has led to claims patrol cars have been summoned from as far away as Youghal to incidents in Cobh — a distance of 42km.

Fianna Fáil councillor Dominic Finn said he has serious concerns about the lack of garda presence in the Carrigtwohill and Cobh areas, which have a combined population of more than 30,000.

“I went to call to Cobh garda station recently and asked to speak to a garda, but no one was available. On one Monday the nearest garda car (available to attend an incident in Cobh) was in Youghal. There was nobody rostered for Tuesday (in Cobh). 

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"On the Wednesday a garda was borrowed from Carrigtwohill, with the result there was nobody there. If something happened here when we have to rely on a patrol car coming from Youghal we’re in big trouble.” Mr Finn said.

Independent councillor Ger Curley said at a recent Cork City v Cobh Ramblers match in Cobh there was trouble with fans clashing and no garda presence.

“That’s not a good sight for our town and the Carrigtwohill station is closed most of the time," he added.

Labour councillor Cathal Rasmussen, chairman of the county’s newly formed community safety committee, said it took nearly 20 minutes for gardaí to respond to a serious incident in a Cobh estate — as they’d to come from Midleton. He claimed garda numbers in Cobh “are at an all-time low” despite efforts of local management to get more.

He said:

Another huge issue is you can often ring the station, and you’ll not get an answer. 

"As a local councillor I am advising people to ring 999 if they can’t get through to the station."

The garda press office said for operational reasons it doesn’t comment on current or future deployment of resources.

It said the opening hours of garda stations is not equivalent to the availability of gardaí patrolling in the local communities.

"Every hour that a garda is required to remain inside a station to keep it open, is an hour that garda cannot be on patrol in their local community," the statement added.