Parties seek more gardaí in Limerick

Opposition parties have called for greater Garda presence in Limerick and a regional office of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) to tackle the city’s worsening gangland problem.

Speaking this afternoon on a visit to the city, Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said: “I remain concerned that gardaí in Limerick do not have the resources they need to prosecute gangland criminals and restore law and order to the affected parts of the city.

"Recent reports have suggested that gardaí have a low profile at flash points, in spite of the presence of the Emergency Response Unit,” he said.

“Every effort must be made to ensure that the Gardaí have a coherent, stand-alone operation in place in order to address the worsening situation,” Mr Flanagan said.

Mr Flanagan’s comments came ahead of a postmortem into the body of a man who was found dead in the Limerick yesterday. Gardaí named the man this afternoon as James Cronin (20), of Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick.

Gardaí believe Mr Cronin was shot in a gangland dispute connected with the killing of Mark Moloney (40) in the Garryowen area of the city on Saturday.

The Fine Gael justice spokesman said that the gangland situation in parts of Limerick is now so bad that the city needs its own assistant Garda Commissioner and a division of the Cab.

Echoing his call, Labour Party TD for Limerick East Jan Sullivan said: “Cab has a vital part to play in tackling these crime lords. Where these people are living in luxury with no legitimate income, Cab must be deployed without delay to confiscate their assets. I believe there must be a more intense level of Cab activity in the Limerick area."

“Locals have contacted me to say that in the areas affected, they simply don’t see Garda on the streets and on the beat, especially at night. If we are to avoid further bloodshed, and if we are to give people back a sense of safety and security in their own areas, there must be a visible Garda presence on the ground, around the clock,” said Ms O’Sullivan.

“Modern crime needs modern responses, and the gardaí must be given the appropriate powers to enable them not just to detect crime and put those responsible behind bars, but also . . . prevent crime from taking place,” she added.