We won’t let Dublin undermine boys in blue

Treating Gardaí as ‘blue collar workers’, pardon the cliché, is despicable. While sneaking pay cuts in the back door is downright insulting.

In a recent radio interview one panelist remarked “if there is any further attempts to disguise a pay cut by focusing in on allowances then it is interpreted as a pay cut. Around 60% of Gardaí joined the force in the past 10 years and unions argue their employers focused on their allowances while offering them low pay.”

Our gardaí are on the front line of alcohol and drug-fuelled thuggery every night of the week. And as they struggle to contain street fights, drug use and reckless motorists, they are criticised for not doing enough to tackle serious crime.

The rural garda is more than just a physical deterrent against crime; he or she can represent the eyes and ears of a community that might otherwise be too scattered to defend itself.

One fears that a day will come when the needs of the rural population will be so low that services just won’t be important.

While organisations like Muintir na Tíre are doing their utmost for the rural population, the campaign against the closure of garda stations nationwide will continue, a campaign that will see this important issue top of the political agenda.

This is one u-turn that any Government would be forgiven for.

Cllr Noel Collins

“St Jude’s”

Midleton

Co Cork