FINE Gael councillor Adam Teskey was acting on rumours and speculation when he quizzed Limerick Council about the alleged “imminent closure of Adare Garda Station”.
Speaking at the February monthly Adare-Rathkeale area meeting, Cllr Teskey was so concerned about whispers over the station’s closure that he called for a letter to be sent to the District Garda Superintendent, Minister for Justice, and the Office of Public Works.
“I believe an inspection has been carried out at Adare Garda Station, and the public out there, also believe that a vast amount of money is going to be pumped into the village. And while all this talk is going on, the one thing we need, and it’s our job to retain it, is a garda station,” Cllr Teskey declared at the meeting.
“We’re going into one of the biggest sporting events in the world in the next year and a half and now there’s discussions that the Garda station in Adare could be closed in advance of it. We need to know answers. We need to know the Government are willing to provide the necessary funding to bring it up to standard and we must be honest with ourselves – crime in parts of rural Limerick is quite high so we need it to be kept.”
Director of Services for the Adare-Rathkeale District, Vincent Murray, pointed out that this was all speculation and rumours and there had been no official announcement whatsoever around the Adare Garda Station’s closure.
“I can ask the Superintendent to come in and talk to us, but at the moment there has been no official announcement that there’s any closure at the Garda station,” Mr Murray assured those at the meeting.
Cllr Teskey wanted to know if the local authority had been briefed.
“We’ve had no indication of any issue with the Garda station in Adare. We haven’t heard anything at all,” Mr Murray insisted.
Independent Ireland councillor John O’Donoghue said that while it was only speculation, it was important to get to the bottom of it.
“Until we find out what the story is, I don’t think we need to be jumping up and down,” Cllr O’Donoghue said.
Mr Murray pointed out to members of the press at the meeting that there was no announcement or official word about the closure. He suggested to Cllr Teskey that it might be better to get the facts first before acting on rumours.
“For the media, we have had no instruction or no advice that the Garda station in Adare is closing,” Mr Murray said.
Cllr Teskey still took the view that the district should apply “the maximum critical pressure” as rumour and speculation can often turn into “factual account”.
Cllr Stephen Keary (FG) took the view that the front door of the Garda station in Adare is rarely seen open and that this too should be highlighted in any letter from the Council.
He suggested that Gardaà consider putting in an administrator to keep the station open.
“You go to the door and you can’t get access so there should be a clerical person there,” Cllr Keary commented.
Fianna Fáil councillor Bridie Collins felt Cllr Teskey was entering dangerous terrain by calling for action purely on the back of gossip.
“If we start acting to rumour and innuendo, we’ll be on a hiding to nothing. I think it’s important to establish the facts before we start writing letters,” she told the meeting.
“There’s been no indication officially that the station is closing. Can we wait until we know the facts? We’re talking about rumours. You’ve already got the headline, can we move on from this?”
Later in the meeting, Cathaoirleach of the Adare-Rathkeale District, Cllr Ger Ward (FF), following up on the rumour, received Garda confirmation that there is no plan to close Adare Garda Station.
“In fact, they have plans to refurbish the public office section for the Ryder Cup,” Cllr Ward revealed.