Lack of timeline for new Laytown Garda station an ‘absolute insult’ to people of East Meath

Laytown/Bettystown Sinn Féin councillor Maria White has described the latest government response on the long-promised new Garda station for Laytown as “an absolute insult to the people of East Meath.”

Her comments follow a parliamentary question by Sinn Féin TD Darren O’Rourke, which received a reply from the Minister for Public Expenditure stating that the project remains at “the early stages” and that it is not possible to provide a timeline for delivery.

Cllr White said the response “does not give me any faith that this issue is seen as a priority.”

“In 2022, the then Minister for Justice Helen McEntee welcomed the commitment to a new Garda station for Laytown,” she said. “She stated that the Government was committed to building stronger, safer communities and that this commitment was evident in these developments for Laytown and East Meath. However, it now appears that little to nothing has happened in the two years since.”

Cllr White said both she and Deputy O’Rourke had consistently sought updates on the project. “We were told that a business case was to be submitted,” she said. “I’d love to know how a commitment was given, an announcement made, and photos taken, without a business case being submitted..if that was always a requirement. The only conclusion I can come to is that the commitment given was a soundbite, one to keep the community quiet and appeased for as long as possible. This community deserves much better than to be treated like that.”

The Sinn Féin representative said that East Meath has seen huge population growth, yet Garda resources have not kept pace. “We know from the data available that Meath has the lowest number of Gardaí per head of population in the country, even though it’s one of the fastest-growing counties in Ireland,” she said.

“In East Meath we have many new school buildings testament to our population growth across Laytown, Bettystown, Donacarney, Mornington, and Julianstown. Unfortunately, Garda numbers have not kept up, nor do we have a fit-for-purpose Garda station. We need both: more Gardaí and a proper base for them to operate from.”

Cllr White said she and Deputy O’Rourke will continue to pursue the issue “relentlessly.”

“We will use every platform available to us to challenge the lack of progress and the unacceptable snail’s pace of this so-called ‘priority’ project,” she said. “As I often say in my work with teachers, ‘fail to plan, plan to fail.’ It would be unacceptable for teachers to turn up to work without a plan, yet government ministers continuously fail to plan for population growth and for how public money can best meet community needs.”

She added that accountability within government departments “is at an all-time low.”

“The fact that the Minister feels it’s acceptable to say a timeline cannot be provided speaks volumes, he might as well have said it’s being put on the long finger indefinitely,” she said.

Cllr White confirmed that a public meeting on the issue will take place later in November. “We’ll continue to work with the community to put pressure on government for action,” she said. “We’ve had just words for too long. It’s time for delivery.”