Mattie McGrath demands task force after violent Clarmel attack
Mattie McGrath raised alarm over drug dealing, intimidation and a violent assault on a young farmer in Clarmel, urging a task force and immediate resources to support the Gardaí. He called for action against roving gangs involved in illegal lamping and hunting and protection for farmers and families.
Incident in Clarmel
A young farmer was allegedly confronted by a gang in Clarmel, beaten to the ground, kicked underneath his van and left — an incident described as one that "could have been a fatality." McGrath said drug dealing and intimidation in Clarmel Town Centre have become a serious local problem.
Call for a task force and support
McGrath asked for immediate measures to support the Gardaí and to deal with the problem in Clarmel and outlying parishes, asking explicitly, "Will you set up a task force, I'm glad the Minister of Justice is here, to deal with the problem with Clarmel and the outlying parishes?" He warned that roving gangs are intimidating farmers, their wives and families.
Minister's response on Gardaí resourcing
The minister responded that resourcing is ultimately a matter for the Garda Commissioner but said the Government's role is to ensure the Commissioner has sufficient personnel. The minister noted about 460 that will either come into or leave Templemore this year and referenced funding in the budget for 1,000 additional Gardaí next year.
Deployment plans and rural policing operations
The minister set out expectations that recruitment would result in roughly 200 Gardaí every three months being sent to towns, villages and communities. He also highlighted specialised teams for rural crime and named Operation Thor and other targeted operations as being rolled out across the winter months to bolster policing in rural areas.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Last week about the issue of drug dealing and intimidation in Clarmel Town Centre. Clarmel is a fine town and fine people. An incident happened on Friday night when a young farmer was going home to his home place where he was confronted by a gang, beaten to the ground and kicked underneath his van and left. Could have been a fatality. Will you do something to support the Gardaí and Clarmel? The numbers are appalling. The ones that are there do their best but they haven't. The management is leaving a lot to answer for. Gardaí are in danger of themselves going around on their own in the middle of the night. Will you set up a task force, I'm glad the Minister of Justice is here, to deal with the problem with Clarmel and the outlying parishes. There's roving gangs intimidating farmers and all families under the auspice of lamping, which is illegal anyway, and hunting of rabbits and hayers, which is illegal as well. Unmuzzled. We don't hear anything about that. And they're intimidating farmers, their wives, their families. It's almost out of control and the Gardaí are going to lose control of it unless you send in resources immediately. First, obviously the resourcing of An Gardaí is a matter for the Commissioner as to where they go. But my role is obviously to make sure the Commissioner has as many Gardaí as possible to be able to allocate them to the different regions. We have about 460 that will either come into or leave Templemore this year. And with the new recruitment campaign, the intention and the funding that was allocated in this year's budget is for 1,000 additional Gardaí next year. And obviously, we hope to continue the that number. So that would see 200 Gardaí every three months being sent out to the various different towns, villages, communities, rural and urban. And obviously that will help to bolster Gardaí on the ground, but working in specialised teams as well, in terms of rural crime, obviously Operation Thor and a number of other specific targeted operations, which look at these type of rural gangs and the type of activity in rural areas that is being rolled out and will be rolled out right across the winter months as well. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
