Donegal community representative group urge U-turn on Garda Division amalgamation

Members of the Donegal Public Participation Network (PPN), who represent 653 community groups across the county have urged the Garda Commission to make Donegal a stand-alone Division again.

The PPN, who are represented on the Donegal Joint Policing Committee, have emailed Garda Commission Drew Harris and highlighted 20 concerns following the amalgamation of Donegal with the Sligo and Leitrim Divisions.

The letter has also been sent to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste Micheál Martin, the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, local TDs, Senators and Councillors.

“We are calling on all our public representatives to come out and stand up against this decision, which will affect every citizen in Donegal if it is fully implemented,” a spokesperson told Donegal Live.

New legal team for man charged with assault of teenage girl

The man, who is charged with assaulting a young woman in Letterkeny in 2017, has appointed a new legal team

At a recent Doengal JPC meeting, Chief Superintendent Aidan Glacken said that a review 'is underway in relation to some elements of the operating model and how it has impacted'.

The PPN have urged local representatives to highlight the case for Donegal being a stand-alone Garda Division 'and help overturn this proposal before it’s too late'.

Their feelings were already conveyed to Commissioner Harris when he attended a JPC meeting in January.

The group says in their letter, which was circulated this week, that they believe the amalgamation will be 'devastating for Donegal'.

They point out that Donegal has a 100km border with Northern Ireland and is in close proximity to large urban centres like Derry, Strabane and Enniskillen.

“Donegal is a unique County insofar as it is a border county meaning that there are potentially high rates of crimes occurring in both jurisdictions in regard to religious divides and/or divisions within different communities as well as other crimes including drug traffic,” the letter says.

The presence of an international airport at Carrickfinn and five fishing ports in the county are also highlighted.

The letter said: “Donegal has seen a dramatic increase in the arrival of cruise ships in Killybegs and Rathmullan, bringing in huge amounts of people to these regions weekly, increasing the workload of the Gardaí in relation to antisocial behaviour and crimes relating to drink and drugs.”

The group says that the Buncrana, Milford and Ballyshannon Districts are similar in size to counties Louth and Fermanagh respectively.

“Donegal therefore is the size of several other counties joined together making it a vast area to police,” they said.

“Donegal in the summer months has a population increase of 50 per cent due to holiday homes, ex pats and tourists from abroad.”

They say that a Chief Superintendent will not be based in Letterkenny – which has been designated as the HQ of the amalgamated Divisions – as proposed.

They wrote: “Currently Superintendents have local responsibility. This could dramatically disappear with crime superintendents and/or community engagement superintendents being based elsewhere outside in our county.”

Cross-border crime remains a big worry in Donegal and the PPN have pointed out that the as-yet unsolved murders of Andrew Allen and Denis Donaldson, for example, had cross-border involvement.

The letter concludes: “We implore you to use your influence to have this proposed amalgamation reversed by contacting your local public representative re your concerns, to convey to Commissioner Harris our dismay and that we in Donegal should be a stand-alone Garda Division as proposed for County Kerry.”