This article is from page 6 of the 2014-09-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
ELDERLY people in West Clare are living in fear of robberies, so much so that one pensioner has taken to sleeping by day so that he is awake by night.
Older people who live alone have become even more fearful following the robbery of a pensioner in his own home in Kilmhil two week ago.
During the malicious attack, the man was tied up by his assailants.
The incident occurred just 20 months after a spate of attacks and robberies of older people in rural West Clare area.
Clare county councillor Ian Lynch (Ind) says more Gardaí visible in these areas would allay a lot of fears and give a life back to people who are now prisoners in their own homes.
The Kilrush-based councillor has hit out at government decisions to close rural Garda stations and poli cies that have resulted in a significant reduction in the number of gardaí.
Cllr Lynch described the decision to close rural stations as “premature, wreckless and showed blatant disregard for rural Ireland”.
“Long before the decision was made we had been warning the then Minister, Alan Shatter, that any reduction in force numbers and closure of local rural stations would have detrimental consequences for the most vulnerable in our rural societies.
“Despite our pleads he went ahead and cut resources and stations, going completely against proven international research which proves that drop in policing numbers sees an increase in crime,” said the new councillor.
“It’s quite evident that this research was correct and now our elderly pensioners are living in fear. The situation has become so worrying that one pensioner has taken to sleeping by day to stay awake by night in fear and to protect his property.
“Our gardaí on the ground are doing a tremendous job and their detection rate is increasing two fold, but this recent crime has shown us that criminals are adopting and are well aware that Garda resources have been stretched. They are now committing malicious crimes in broad daylight because they know the chances of a patrol been in the are slim,” he said.
“Minister Shatter promised in March to replenish rural Garda stations with new mobile Garda offices, a step that would give piece of mind to the most vulnerable. In October he slashed those hopes and cancelled the tender.”