Kildare South Fine Gael TD Martin Heydon has welcomed confirmation of the allocation of an additional Garda to the Kilcullen station following a recent review of resources. Garda Jonathan Brien will start in Kilcullen on October 9th. He will join Sergeant Mary Mulroe, Garda Joanne O Sullivan and Garda Jim Lacy.
“Since the Garda training college in Templemore was re-opened in 2014, a total of 1,179 Gardai have attested nationally. Of these 60 probationer Gardai have been assigned to the Kildare District, which is the highest allocation outside the Dublin Metropolitan Region.”
“I continue to liaise with Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan and senior Gardai to ensure that the Kildare South area gets its fair share of Garda resources. As I lobbied for additional Garda resources for the county, I have also argued that these additional resources needed to feed down to stations like Kilcullen to provide additional cover for the area which includes Ballymore Eustace.
“The Government’s response to crime, and to burglaries in particular, has focussed on two key objectives: investing in the capacity of An Garda Síochána to tackle criminals and enforce the law effectively; and updating and strengthening the law where necessary.
“Further support is being provided to communities through the unprecedented investment in the Garda fleet in recent years. The Capital Plan 2016 to 2021 provides for investment of €46million in the fleet, this is in addition to the investment of almost €30million in the period 2013 to 2015.
“In the period 2013 to the end of 2017, almost €44million will have been invested in the fleet with some 2,000 vehicles coming on stream in that period. This investment has allowed Gardaí to carry out special targeted patrols against criminals committing crime inter-regionally, including a focus on the use of motorways by criminal gangs, so as to disrupt and arrest those involved. Garda numbers are also continuing to increase with a new class of Gardaí graduating this week from Templemore.”