Absolutely no indication that Manorhamilton Garda station is going to be closed

Cllr Sean McDermott told a meeting of County Leitrim Joint Policing Committee he had been requested by constituents to raise the issue of the opening hours of Manorhamilton Garda Station.
He said that on occasions, “a notice has been put on the front door of this Garda Station advising people to make contact with Carrick-on-Shannon Garda Station with their issues. Manorhamilton Garda Station is a very important station and has responsibility for most of North Leitrim.”
Cllr McDermott noted that there has been a significant increase in population in the area and the station is “quite near to the border too” adding “I think there should be someone in it the whole time, if at all possible.”
Cllr Felim Gurn supported the motion and said if someone is arrested in Manorhamilton, “they have to go to Carrick or Ballymote because the jail cell in the Manorhamilton station is still not upgraded.”
He said if the cell was upgraded there would “be more confidence out there that the garda station will remain open.”
He said it was “vital that a Garda station like Manorhamilton remains open.”
He added, “We've seen enough rural Garda stations closed and a station like Manorhamilton, that's on the route from Sligo to Enniskillen, is closed, there will be a huge knock-on effect and we won't be able to get it reopened.”
Inspector Carla Curry responded that there is “absolutely no indication that Manorhamilton Garda station is going to be closed. There are, on occasion, in the evenings from 10pm onwards, to maximise the resources we have available, we have the Garda from Manorhamilton and the environs and then a sign is put up; it's not that there is no Garda service in Manorhamilton but to contact Carrick who will ask the car to return to the station.”
She said that through the GardaSAFE system, all service calls to any Garda station in the district are transferred directly to Galway to be dealt with.
“If the station is closed, the Gardaí are doing proactive patrols,” she said.
Cllr Gurn asked if the reason the stations are unmanned during these times is down to resources and Insp Curry responded that there are four sergeants and 15 Gardaí attached to Manorhamilton and one sergeant and three Gardaí attached to Kinlough and that she “would love to get additional resources but I don't think there is any area in the country not looking for additional resources.”
She added that it would be “rare that we'd pull our resources to strip Manorhamilton whereby there wouldn't be cover provided.”
She said she would look into the progress being made on the cell in the station being upgraded.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Justin Warnock said that “one thing I found very worrying in the last week was that over 80% of asylum seekers are coming in through Northern Ireland.”
He continued, “We are a border county and they are coming in through here.”
Cllr Enda McGloin asked if Drumshanbo garda station could be open for a “set time for two hours in the week for people to come to the Gardaí for passports, etc.”
Insp Curry said that this would be “no problem” and a similar service could be provided in Mohill.
Insp Curry said that Leitrim Gardaí do a lot of “joint operations with the PSNI and meet regularly with regard to discussing crime and issues both An Garda Síochána and the PSNI are experiencing.”