Edenderry councillor calls for armed patrols

Edenderry councillor John Foley has this week called for radical changes in how crime is tackled nationally, saying that an “undermanned and overworked” garda force is allowing criminals at every level to flout the law at every opportunity.

Speaking this week the councillor suggested that Army personnel be used for patrols around the country, as a support to the gardai.

“If you leave Edenderry today to drive to Tullamore, the likelihood is that our traffic warden in Edenderry will have checked your car road tax disc to ensure all is in order,” Cllr Foley said.

“Similarly a traffic corp vehicle will probably have scanned your registration number to ensure that you have car tax, insurance etc. By the time you get to Tullamore your speed will almost certainly have been checked by one of our mobile speed cameras. When you get to Tullamore, you again will in all probability be checked by another traffic corp vehicle.

“Surely the traffic corp could be better employed fighting crime?” he said. “Train our 9,000 approximate Army personnel to take on some of these duties, which in turn will free the members of the traffic corp to do what they are trained to do - fight and investigate crime.”