Councillors fear for Fore due to car break-ins

Thieves have been targeting cars parked at Fore Abbey and the Nancy to Nellie Walk, which has prompted strong calls for the use of CCTV cameras to catch them.

Cllr Alfie Devine raised the subject for discussion at the July meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad. He called for the use of CCTV and signage warning that CCTV is in use, in a bid to deter those responsible for the car break-ins.

The official written response from the district executive stated that the request had been issued to the Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP) for their consideration and that the community wardens will also be tasked with monitoring the location.

Cllr Devine told colleagues that over the last year or so, there has been what he described as “systematic law-breaking” going on there.

“It looks like it’s targeted, and the reason is that when people get out of their cars and park up and head off into the Abbey or head off up around Nancy to Nellie, everything is left, and there’s nobody around,” he stated.

His concern was that as Fore grows as a tourist destination, word is also getting out that cars aren’t safe there.

“We don’t want to get the word out that people can’t park their cars in Fore because they’re going to be broken into,” he said, adding that he believed cameras would have a deterrent effect.

Support came from Cllr David Jones, who encouraged victims of crime there to report it to the gardaí, both from the viewpoint of providing them with statistics, and from the point of view of strengthening the case for the installation of CCTV.

“It’s disheartening when we’re trying to encourage tourists to come to the county, and this is what they are becoming the victim of,” he said.

Cllr Denis Leonard, who is a member of the Community Safety Partnership, said that the resources the partnership has won’t cover all the requests out there for CCTV, and that, therefore, signage is vital, so that – as with speed cameras – offenders can never be sure when cameras are present.

He was disappointed at the damage the thieves were bringing to such a fine facility, a sentiment shared by the mayor, Cllr Niall Gaffney: “It’s such a busy and lovely spot to be in, but nothing kills tourism quicker than the idea of it being an unsafe place,” he said.