- Garda
The Irish government is on a collision course with the country's police force, the Garda Siochana, after it was claimed that further closures of police stations in the republic would be met with "resistance."
The Garda Representative Association recently held its annual conference in Athlone, Co. Westmeath where the disillusionment of rank and file Gardaí was made clear.
This year's garda budget has been slashed by €80 million, and a swathe of retirements has seen overall numbers reduced by up to 2000. Meanwhile, as a result of cutbacks, up to 40 rural stations are closing this year, with more planned for the chop in 2013.
Speaking at the conference, GRA president, Damien McCarthy, painted a bleak picture, in which he said officers were "struggling to cope" with the changes affecting the force.
He also predicted residents of rural areas would come out against plans to axe their local stations.
"In those communities that are going to be affected, I don't for one second believe that they are going to sit idly by and sit on their hands and let such drastic decisions be taken without any consequence. I think the public are with us on that one," he said.
"It's going to become perhaps a safe breeding ground for criminal activity. It's going to contribute significantly to the fear of crime particularly amongst our senior citizens around the country."
During the conference, he also said some calls to gardai were going unanswered, as the numbers on the force were simply not enough to police the entire state effectively.
McCarthy has called for the introduction of new laws specifically outlawing assaults on officers and other emergency workers, and revealed that up to 700 garda officers are assaulted in the republic each year.
