[ad_1]
Gardaí said they have “sufficient” resources in Rathkeale, Co Limerick, as a local police plan “remains in place” to respond to any possible big New Year celebrations in the city.
It comes after Gardaí confirmed last Monday that they were “preparing files for the Director of the Public Ministry after the incidents found by Gardaí in Rathkeale during the Christmas period in which large groups participated in private establishments and on the local public thoroughfare. ”.
Gardaí is monitoring the situation after videos surfaced online in recent days of alleged house parties in the city, where large groups circumvented the rules of wearing masks and social distancing.
In response to inquiries about the city’s annual Christmas / New Years police plan, a Garda spokesperson said: “A local Garda operation started on Tuesday 24 November 2020 and remains in the Rathkeale area.”
In light of the spread of Covid-19 in Limerick, where 203 new cases of the virus were announced today and 965 cases in the past 14 days, some in Rathkeale expressed concern about the arrival of around 1,000 members of the traveling community from Britain. where a more transmissible form of the virus appeared last week.
Other community leaders said the city has been unfairly designated and there are fears the virus will spread in communities across the country and not just in Rathkeale.
Based on the latest data, there were 183 confirmed cases in the Adare-Rathkeale Local Election Area (LEA), however this includes a population of over 27,000, including districts outside of Rathkeale.
The Adare-Rathkeale LEA is currently 415% above the national average rate per 100,000 residents.
Local sources said they were aware of the hiring of tents to celebrate New Year’s Eve parties in the city.
In response, a Garda spokesperson said: “A Garda Síochána has received no such reports of tents being built in Rathkeale or in a wider area at this time.”
Pavee Point co-director Martin Collins has called for a ban on tents during the pandemic to discourage large gatherings.
Collins said he was aware of members of the traveling community renting tents, during the pandemic, in other areas, to celebrate birthday parties and anniversaries.
“It’s just not on, it’s unacceptable,” said Collins, who also criticized those who had traveled to stay in Rathkeale in recent weeks and days.
The “parties of emerging proposals” among the nomadic community have also been held in the town in recent weeks, reported local sources.
Fianna Fáil’s local TD, Niall Collins, stated that he was inundated with calls from concerned voters about the possibility of the virus spreading given the influx of visitors from international shores.
He has called for an increase in the resources of the garda to keep surveillance levels in line with the increase in population.
In response to inquiries about garda resources in the city, a garda spokesperson said that “there are currently sufficient garda resources for the area.”
“Any breach of the Covid-19 restrictions will be investigated by gardaí and a file will be prepared for the Director of the Public Ministry in each case.” “The Government has announced that the country has passed to Level 5 of the Plan to Live with Covid-19. At Level 5, the risk to public health means that the Government has asked citizens to stay home, ”they said.
Gardaí as of today, across the country, is “conducting intensive high-visibility mobile checks within local areas to engage, explain and encourage people to support public health guidelines,” the spokesperson said.
“An Garda Síochána will continue to participate in high visibility patrols in key public areas such as parks and recreational areas. This will make gardaí continue working with individuals, communities and companies to support each other during the passage to Level 5 of the Plan to live with Covid-19 ”, they added.
[ad_2]