Conor D McGuinness warns rural Waterford faces policing shortages
Conor D McGuinness spoke about rural policing and Garda recruitment, saying the government has failed to address shortages that threaten policing performance. He highlighted impacts in County Waterford and noted recent recruitment gains while pressing for more action.
Authority report
The Policing and Community Safety Authority's report at the end of last year exposed a continuing failure of government to address Garda recruitment, retention and rural policing. The report identified serious risks to policing performance from staffing shortages, missed recruitment targets and increasing pressure on Gardaí.
Local impact in Waterford
Conor D McGuinness said County Waterford is experiencing the sharpest impact, with too few Gardaí covering large areas and limited visibility on the ground. He detailed understaffed and empty stations, slow response times and a number of violent incidents in towns and villages in West Waterford, and quoted constituents from Cappaquin, Clashmore, Turanina, Ballymacarbury, Kilmack Thomas, Dungarvan and Ardmore.
Recruitment progress
He acknowledged recruitment progress, noting 17 extra Gardaí had been recruited to Waterford since last August and that the minister had recently visited local Garda stations and spoken with the Chief Superintendent and Gardaí. He said 215 trainers and trainees entered Templemore last Monday, the third intake in a row exceeding 200, recruited from the 24 and 2025 recruitment campaigns, and that the Government is making progress in increasing numbers.
Interruption in the debate
During the speech, the record shows repeated interjections of "Deputy John May" appearing multiple times, indicating interruptions from that deputy while Conor D McGuinness was speaking.
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To continue with the theme, the Policing and Community Safety Authority, as you know, at the end of last year, its report exposed the continuing failure of government to address Garda recruitment, retention and rural policing in particular. And it identified serious risks to policing performance from staffing shortages to missed recruitment targets and increasing pressure on Gardaí. And rural areas and people that are talking to me in County Waterford are experiencing the sharpest impact. Too few Gardaí covering large areas and limited visibility on the ground. And Gardaí themselves are telling this. They don't feel that they have the support. They don't feel that they have the resources to do their jobs. Across County Waterford, people are raising understaffed stations, empty stations, slow response times. We've had a number of violent incidences, particularly in towns and villages in West Waterford in recent months, where response times were just too slow for people. People are not feeling safe in their communities. And we need to get to grips with this in areas like Cappaquin, Clashmore, Turanina, Ballymacarbury, Kilmack Thomas, Dungarvan, Ardmore. People are telling me that they don't see a Gardaí from one end of the week to the next. So when are we going to get real about this and ensure that rural areas have the policing response that they need? First of all, 17 extra Gardaí have been recruited to Waterford since last August. And I know that the Minister visited Waterford Gardaí station and Gardaí station recently, had good conversations with the Chief Superintendent and with the Gardaí more generally. And people are seeing a lot more Gardaí a lot more often now. And the good news is that we, 215 trainers, trainees entered Templemore last Monday. And that's the third intake in a row where the numbers have exceeded 200. And those candidates were all recruited from the 24 and 2025 recruitment campaigns. So we are on target. Government is making progress now in significantly increasing the number of Gardaí in the force. And that will continue. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May. Deputy John May.
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