A county councillor in Co. Roscommon has said people living in the north of the county are “sick and tired” of burglaries, after Elphin Livestock Mart was targeted at the weekend by what is believed to have been criminal gang.
Councillor Sean Moylan told Agriland that there have been a spate of robberies in the area in the past six weeks.
“It’s an ongoing issue and it seems to us, as a public, to be the same group or groups of people that are doing it because they are doing the same things, so Elphin Mart is just one,” Cllr. Moylan said.
Gardaí confirmed that they are investigating a burglary of a premises in Elphin, which occurred during the early hours of Sunday morning (September 15).
Gardaí are investigating stolen property and criminal damage. No arrests have been made at this time.
It is understood that a sum of money was stolen, and damage was done to electrical infrastructure at the mart.
Cllr. Moylan said: “It’s coming to a point now where we are absolutely sick and tired of it.”
The councillor said that the issue is compounded by garda stations in the region seeing reduced opening hours.
“Our garda stations in the rural towns like Elphin, Tulsk, Bellanagare, and Frenchpark have been closed or are on very short opening hours for a long time now,” he said.
“This would seem like a gang, they’re coming into the area, they’re hitting four or five areas fairly fast and they’re going out again,” he added.
Cllr. Moylan said that he has called on Minister of Justice Helen McEntee and commissioner of An Garda Síochána Drew Harris to review the policing plan for Roscommon and the general area being impacted by these crimes.
“We have our plenary council meeting early next week, and I’ll be looking for the council to make a call on behalf of Roscommon County Council and the councillors therein to change the plan here and increase our (garda station) opening hours (for) more of a high visibility presence,” he said.
“People are getting sick and tired of being robbed and your neighbours being robbed [and] every other night there seems to be gangs coming in and doing this,” the councillor added.