Monday, October 30, 2006
Gardai numbers on the Coast
The lack of a permanent, 24 hour Garda presence is causing a lot of stress and worry for the people of East Meath. Over the last few weeks there has been a spate of personal assaults in the area. Combined with this there have been a number of arson attacks on local property.
We met with the local Superintendent to discuss the problem. Garda responsibilities on the East Coast fall under the Drogheda division, so the meeting took place in Drogheda Garda station.
My father served with Drogheda Gardai for many years, so I often made trips into the station when I was a kid (he also served in Duleek, Slane and Dunshaughlin, so he’s forever filling me in on past history!). The local Super was very generous with his time and myself and a couple of local residents outlined our concerns about the area. I’d be fairly hopeful that the numbers of Gardai will increase over the next while. After the meeting I wrote to the Garda Commissioner, Mr Noel Conroy, asking him to provide more Gardai for the Louth Meath Division – population growth in the area has been significant over the last few years.
I've just signed up for You Tube and will incorporate a short video on my blog each week. Here are some thoughts on Laytown bus fares....
I hope to improve the quality of next week's video!
On Thursday I met with Deputy Ruairi Quinn for lunch. He gave me some advice on local electoral strategy, which I intend to put to use. Prior to the meeting his assistant, Keith, informed me of a dodgy road sign on the way to Kells (his dad lives locally).
Of course, it’s not just that the letter are missing from Kells, it’s also that local residents spell Drumconrath differently to that north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra. Hopefully the engineers will change it soon!
This week’s meeting of Meath Leader was a short one, due to tragic circumstances. We just dealt with urgent business. I was particularly pleased to see money going towards Dyslexia workshops in Navan. Afterwards, Marian, the project appraisal officer, informed me that a case has also been put to the department for a grant for works at the Laytown Pitch & Putt club. Hopefully, the department will sanction the grant. The club is a great resource for young and old alike in the area.
We met with the local Superintendent to discuss the problem. Garda responsibilities on the East Coast fall under the Drogheda division, so the meeting took place in Drogheda Garda station.
My father served with Drogheda Gardai for many years, so I often made trips into the station when I was a kid (he also served in Duleek, Slane and Dunshaughlin, so he’s forever filling me in on past history!). The local Super was very generous with his time and myself and a couple of local residents outlined our concerns about the area. I’d be fairly hopeful that the numbers of Gardai will increase over the next while. After the meeting I wrote to the Garda Commissioner, Mr Noel Conroy, asking him to provide more Gardai for the Louth Meath Division – population growth in the area has been significant over the last few years.
I've just signed up for You Tube and will incorporate a short video on my blog each week. Here are some thoughts on Laytown bus fares....
I hope to improve the quality of next week's video!
On Thursday I met with Deputy Ruairi Quinn for lunch. He gave me some advice on local electoral strategy, which I intend to put to use. Prior to the meeting his assistant, Keith, informed me of a dodgy road sign on the way to Kells (his dad lives locally).
Of course, it’s not just that the letter are missing from Kells, it’s also that local residents spell Drumconrath differently to that north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra. Hopefully the engineers will change it soon!
This week’s meeting of Meath Leader was a short one, due to tragic circumstances. We just dealt with urgent business. I was particularly pleased to see money going towards Dyslexia workshops in Navan. Afterwards, Marian, the project appraisal officer, informed me that a case has also been put to the department for a grant for works at the Laytown Pitch & Putt club. Hopefully, the department will sanction the grant. The club is a great resource for young and old alike in the area.
# posted by Senator Dominic Hannigan @ 9:59 AM 
