Residents leaving Galway area and 'selling homes' over notorious crime gangs' activities
A number of housing estates had seen carjackings, attempted arson attacks, open drug use, a shooting, and a number of cars being burned out in recent months
Some residents are selling their homes and leaving one Galway area as a result of the surge in criminal activity, citing open fighting involving machetes, swords, and iron bars.
Crime rates in Ballinasloe are running approximately 79% above the national average but the town is operating with as few as two gardaí on duty on a day-to-day basis, the Dáil was told last week.
The stark figures were outlined by Roscommon-Galway Sinn Féin TD Claire Kerrane, who warned that escalating antisocial behaviour and violent crime has left families in local housing estates terrorised in their homes.
Ms Kerrane listed a number of housing estates that had seen carjackings, attempted arson attacks, open drug use, a shooting, and a number of cars being burned out in recent months.
In response, Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Catherine Ardagh defended the Government’s investment in policing, confirming that force strength had reached an all-time record of 14,825 members.
She said the Galway division had 641 gardaí as of the end of August, which included 52 gardaí stationed across the Ballinasloe Garda District. A total of four probationers were assigned to the Galway division in 2026, while 25 additional gardaí were transferred to the division.
However, Ms Kerrane claimed that the district-wide totals masked severe daily policing shortages in Ballinasloe.
While 52 gardaí across the entire district appeared substantial on paper, Ballinasloe Garda Station routinely operates with single-digit personnel levels, with only two officers on duty the last time she checked.
The Sinn Féin TD warned that without an immediate and sustained Garda intervention, the town faces the prospect of a fatality.
“When it comes to policing, the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration is not in a position to look over the Commissioner’s shoulder and determine where he deploys Garda members,” replied Ms Ardagh.
She commended a recent proactive Garda patrol in Ballinasloe, which resulted in the arrest of six males following an incident of violent disorder at St. Michael’s Square on October 10, all of whom were subsequently charged and brought before the courts.
She added that community safety required a wider societal approach alongside policing, pointing to the work of the local community safety partnership in Ballinasloe and the Rural Safety Plan, which is run in conjunction with the National Rural Safety Forum, An Garda Síochána, and the Irish Farmers’ Association.