Michael Collins: Labels policing reform rural abandonment
Michael Collins criticised the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act, saying it fails rural communities and substitutes new bodies for local policing. He spoke from constituency experience, arguing the Bill offers management and lawyers rather than boots on the ground.
Michael Collins told the House he was not persuaded by claims this is the most significant reform in two decades, calling previous reform rural abandonment. He cited the closure of 139 guard stations between 2012 and 2013 and the disposal of upgraded taxpayer-funded properties as examples of past failures, and questioned where guarantees are that community guards will be reinstated under the new Act and the PCSE.
He described communities such as Goldingin, Adjagol and Dremelig, and detailed constituency battles over guard stations including Golien, Adragold and Balanspital, saying people in West Cork were left vulnerable when stations closed. He argued some stations remain idle and should be returned to active use with local Garda assigned to them, citing Kilbritton, Ballad of the Hub and Drimadie as places affected.
Speaking from long involvement in local safety work, he noted his role as Secretary of the Local Community Alert Group and referenced Skull Community Alert, describing volunteers who patrol roads, check on neighbours and run text alert systems set up after campaign efforts. He warned these groups are struggling without consistent Garda support and local engagement from the State.
He criticised the timing and scrutiny of the votes, noting the Minister for Justice had said on March 4th the vote would be approved in time to commence the legislation this month but that the deadline was missed on April Fool's Day. He also objected to rapid approval of millions for the new authority and an Ombudsman's office while the Justice Committee was not yet operating, saying the House was being asked to rubber-stamp large sums with insufficient debate and oversight.
Critique of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act
Michael Collins told the House he was not persuaded by claims this is the most significant reform in two decades, calling previous reform rural abandonment. He cited the closure of 139 guard stations between 2012 and 2013 and the disposal of upgraded taxpayer-funded properties as examples of past failures, and questioned where guarantees are that community guards will be reinstated under the new Act and the PCSE.
Rural impact and local examples
He described communities such as Goldingin, Adjagol and Dremelig, and detailed constituency battles over guard stations including Golien, Adragold and Balanspital, saying people in West Cork were left vulnerable when stations closed. He argued some stations remain idle and should be returned to active use with local Garda assigned to them, citing Kilbritton, Ballad of the Hub and Drimadie as places affected.
Community alert groups and frontline experience
Speaking from long involvement in local safety work, he noted his role as Secretary of the Local Community Alert Group and referenced Skull Community Alert, describing volunteers who patrol roads, check on neighbours and run text alert systems set up after campaign efforts. He warned these groups are struggling without consistent Garda support and local engagement from the State.
Concerns about parliamentary process and funding
He criticised the timing and scrutiny of the votes, noting the Minister for Justice had said on March 4th the vote would be approved in time to commence the legislation this month but that the deadline was missed on April Fool's Day. He also objected to rapid approval of millions for the new authority and an Ombudsman's office while the Justice Committee was not yet operating, saying the House was being asked to rubber-stamp large sums with insufficient debate and oversight.
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Transcript
First of all, I would like to congratulate your Minister on my first time speaking with you on the opposite side. I wish you the very best and look forward to working with you on numerous issues. Today, I am not armed with some briefing note, drafted by the Civil Service Minister, far removed from the realities of rural Ireland, but with the voice of the people I represent, people in places like Goldingin, Adjagol, Dremelig, who have not seen a community guard in years. We are told that the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act is the most significant reform in two decades, but to be honest, I have seen what reform meant the last time, and I am not buying the spin. Reform back then meant shutting 139 guard stations between 2012 and 2013. Reform meant leaving five upgraded taxpayer-funded properties to be flogged off for peanuts. That was not reform. That was rural abandonment. That was the beginning of fear taking root in communities, once proud of their safety and solidarity. It is worth noting that in the briefing note circulated by the Minister for Justice, he said on March 4th that he would ensure the vote can be approved by the House in time for the legislation to be commenced this month. Well, he missed that deadline, and on April Fool's Day too. I am left to wonder, did the Government priorities looking after Mr Lowry and Co over pressing ahead with urgent business. This new authority, this PCSE, the new Ombudsman's office are getting tins of millions in funding. That is fine, it is to deliver results, but let me ask, where is the guarantee that the community guardee will be put back in the areas that lost them? Where is the commitment to opening even one rural garden station, Minister? I do not see it. What I see is more management, more renaming, more lawyers, but not more boots on the ground. Let me remind the House, when you close a guard station, you do not just shut a door, you shut down a sense of security. All the people in West Cork, people living alone, miles from the nearest town, are left wondering who will respond when trouble comes. Now they rely on a passing patrol or a text alert system we had to fight tooth and nail to establish. I have been Secretary of the Local Community Alert Group for years. I know the Skull Community Alert, I know the commitment, I know the cold nights spent out checking roads, helping neighbours, attending meetings, keeping an eye out, but these groups are struggling. They have been left without guard of support, without proper engagement and without a signal from Government that their work matters. Let us not forget the mess we are in today, scrambling to approve these votes because the Justice Committee is not even up and running. We are being asked to rubber stamp millions with no debate, no scrutiny. That is not how a Republic should run its business. I am not here to block progress, I am here to fight for fair, balanced reform. Reform that sees a guard walk down the street and better the hub safely. Not just another press release in Dublin, reform that restores community trust, not just reshuggles it. If this Act is to mean anything, it must start where it was most broken, in rural Ireland, Minister. Not in new authorities, but in all values, presence, partnerships and protection. Talking about the close of guard of stations, we fought bitterly, Minister, against the closure of the Golien Guard of Station, the Adragold Guard of Station, the Balanspital Guard of Station. We won that battle, actually, in the Balanspital Guard of Station, I think the Balanspital Guard of Station. Unfortunately, we lost three of those guard of stations in Westcock at that time, and many more outside of the constituency. That left the people very, very vulnerable. I found that talking to people, or meeting people, or attending the community alert meetings. It was a huge loss to those local communities. Some of them guard of stations are still lying idle, and they should be given back, and the Garda should be appointed to that community. I have always advocated for the local Garda, appointed to the local area. I see that down in Kilbritton, with John McCarty, who is living locally. I see that in Ballad of the Hub, with Jonathan McCarty. McCarty is a good name when it comes to the Garda. They are there, and they can nip in time before it gets out of hand, and they are a credit to their community. But the problem is, they are out there, nights on their own, summer and winter, because of the lack of Garda in West Cork. The numbers of Garda are falling. They are not being replaced. The Drimadie Garda Station comes up quite often to me. People are asking why there isn't a Garda appointed to the Drimadie Garda Station. The Garda Station is there, but the Garda isn't there. We need to look at community alerts, and that is where I think policing was always at its best, when the local community alert knew of every move that was going on. They met in the local village once every two or three weeks. They got things sorted out locally, and that saved lives and saved people and made people happy at home, but that has to be looked into further. Thank you Deputy.