A Waterford Councillor believes a larger Garda presence is required in the West Waterford region.

A spate of incidences have occurred in the region in recent months, spanning across the towns of Cappoquin, Lismore and Tallow.

Most recently, a business premises in Cappoquin fell victim to robbery.

Sinn Féin representative Donnchadh Mulcahy spoke to WLR where he said it is regularly mentioned to him that more Gardaí are needed in the area.

“We would welcome more Gardaí on the ground and we’d greatly appreciate it. It’s something that keeps coming back to me day by day from the community that they’d welcome more Gardaí on the streets,” he said.

Asked needs to happen in the area, the 2024 elected Cllr said:

“I think it’s important for the community to pull together, to pick up the phone and ring the Gardaí. I think that’s the biggest issue we have, the Gardaí are unaware of some of the issues that are coming through because people aren’t picking up the phone. So it’s important to pick up the phone and report every incident to the Gardaí.”

The Tallow based politician previously attended a public consultation meeting at the Cappoquin Community Centre where locals in the area met with members of An Garda Síochána to discuss issues being felt in the locality and surrounding areas.

A further event is set to take place and Cllr Mulcahy believes the meetings yield positive results in the locality.

“We had a meeting for the community, the Gardaí and a couple of elected representatives to think about the issues we have in West Waterford and the Gardaí have been acting on every issue that was brought up at that meeting.”

“They aren’t a waste of time, they are productive and it does help in the long run.”

A similar meeting is set to take place at the Lismore Heritage Centre at 8pm on April 24th.

“This isn’t just Lismore, this is every town and village in West Waterford.”

“I would urge as many people as possible to make it to that meeting and have your voices heard. And I would urge everyone to keep reporting any incidences you see across West Waterford, it’s not going unnoticed,” he concluded.

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