Gardaí decline to meet in private with Kildare councillors
Photo is for illustrative purposes only
AN ATHY councillor expressed frustration after it emerged that gardaí had rejected a request for localised private meetings with councillors to address local issues.
At September’s meeting of Athy Municipal District, cllr Aoife Breslin brought forward a motion proposing that the elected members of the district request a private meeting with An Garda Síochána ‘to discuss matters in the municipal district given the establishment of Kildare Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP)’.
Administrative officer Katie Lane, who also serves as programme coordinator of the LCSP, issued the council’s official written response, stating that the council raised the issue of private, localised meetings between Gardaí and councillors after a motion from cllr Angela Feeney (who also serves as chair of the LCSP) in May.
The local authority issued correspondence to Chief Superintendent Michael Buckley asking that private Garda briefings at municipal district level be reinstated, separate from the LCSP.
According to the council, the gardaí’s current position is that these local meetings cannot take place at present. In a response received by the council in June, Chief Superintendent Buckley declined the request pending further guidance from the Garda National Community Safety Partnership Support Unit regarding Garda attendance at municipal district meetings.
He said that he did not want to undermine the LCSP model or create a structure that could conflict with the goals and effectiveness of the LCSP.
The official council response also said that the decision to write to An Garda Síochána regarding a specific meeting for the Athy Municipal District was a matter for the councillors.
The report also outlined that under LCSP rules, a meeting for all councillors will be held before the end of the year, with councillors expected to be able to submit questions in advance, with invitations to be issued in due course.
The local authority said that consultation on the first Kildare Community Safety Plan is expected to begin in October, with all stakeholders to be invited to take part in the process.
Cllr Breslin, who is a member of the LCSP, told the meeting that she was “extremely disappointed” with the reply from the superintendent.
She noted the prevalence of anti-social behaviour in some parts of Athy, Castledermot and other areas of the municipal district.
She said that recently there was “an incident in an estate in Athy that lasted three days and to this date we still haven’t gotten to the bottom of it”. She also noted issues in Ballitore.
She said that gardaí are “answerable to the public” and that if they “are not willing to meet with public representatives, it is a very sad day”.
She spoke about what she sees as a flaw in the LCSP model, where councillors in other parts of the county are not interested in hearing issues local to the Athy Municipal District due to the LCSP being focused on county-wide issues.
With cllr Breslin asking for her sentiments to be passed on to Chief Supt Buckley, Ms Lane indicated that the council would reissue a request for a municipal district-specific meeting.
The transition from the Joint Policing Committee (JPC) model to the LCSP has been met with a mixed reaction across Kildare, with councillors Brendan Wyse of Clane and Chris Pender of Newbridge both noting the value of the former model in public comments.
