Concerns continue as new Garda model ready for roll out in Donegal

There are fears that a new Garda model in Donegal will have a negative impact on policing across the county.

Under the new arrangements, due to be rolled out at the end of April, Donegal will be split into two community engagement areas (CEAs) with Ballyshannon and Buncrana Garda Stations serving as hubs for each area. 

The Chief Superintendent for the Donegal Division will still be based out of Letterkenny Garda Station when the new system comes into being and that station will be the divisional headquarters.

Donegal currently has four Garda Districts: Letterkenny, Buncrana, Milford and Ballyshannon. 

However, that arrangement has set to end - sparking some logistical concerns within the force and in communities.

The Donegal Public Participation Network (PPN) already met with Assistant Garda Commissioner Cliona Richardson last month to outline their concerns.

The PPN represents 771 community groups across Donegal, including 666 community and voluntary groups, 80 social inclusion groups and 25 environmental groups and many of their worries are shared by serving gardai across the county.

Many believe that Donegal should be split into three CEAs - Ballyshannon, Buncrana and Letterkenny - rather than the two that are to come into being on April 27. 

Concerns have also been raised about the lack of a Superintendent in Letterkenny since the start of 2024 while gardai currently involved in community-based roles are expected to be put back on the beat in a bid to bolster numbers. 

There are currently 424 gardai stationed in Donegal and under the new model, 148 of those would be covered by an area that includes garda stations from Ballyshannon and all of south Donegal, up along the west coast as far as Creeslough and into Ballybofey and Castlefin.

The Buncrana Garda Station would act as a hub for 246 gardai stationed across Inishowen, as well as those Lifford, Convoy and Raphoe and including the Letterkenny area and the Fanad peninsula.

The 424 figure was the last count made available regarding the number of gardai in the county, but this includes those off on sick leave or otherwise unavailable for duty. Donegal has consistently ranked near the bottom of the pile when it comes to the allocation of newly-attested gardai. 

The argument made by opponents of the change to the system is that the suggested two CEAs are larger geographical areas than some counties and “near impossible to police due to the large areas to cover.”

They contest that three CEAs allow for a more efficient resource allocation and that two CEAs risks a “resource strain” on officers.

Buncrana, Ballyshannon and Letterkenny CEAs are each compatible in size to entire counties, they say, and Donegal’s unique make-up should have been considered.

The county has over 100km of a border with Northern Ireland and has a coastline spanning over 1,100km. The county also has five significant fishing ports and an international airport - each with its own policing demands as shown by recent significant drug activity in waters off Donegal.

The new blueprint could mean that someone arrested in Gortahork, for example, having to be taken to Ballyshannon Garda Station to be processed - a trip of an hour and a half and a journey that could mean a patrol car and two gardai tied up for several hours of their shift.

A major €2.5 million refurbishment of the station on Quay Road, Donegal Town was completed in 2020, but the custody suite has been unused as that facility has not yet been signed off by garda chiefs.

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Local community groups suggested that Glenties Garda Station might have been a geographically more suitable location as the main base in the CEA.

This follows a recently reversal of a planned move to have the entire Donegal Garda division amalgamate with Sligo-Leitrim. After extensive lobbying, including representation from senior gardai in the county and the PPN, Donegal has remained as a stand-alone division.