Sligo woman burgled a week after Tom Niland claims it took gardaí nearly three hours to respond

8th February 2022

A SLIGO woman whose home was burgled a week after Tom Niland was targeted has said it took gardaí nearly three hours to respond. She believes criminals roaming the country have no fear of being caught.

The woman, who lives in the south of the county, said the garda response outlined just how under-resourced the force is.

Speaking to Independent.ie, she confirmed that she left her house briefly on January 25 at 5.45pm. A short time later she received a call from a neighbour informing her there was a car parked in a laneway beside the house and all the security lights were on.

“So I went back and I could see the back door was open and had been forced. I didn’t want to go in because I wasn’t sure – any of them might still be in the house. I [also] didn’t want to disturb any evidence that might help the guards,” she said.

“I live in a rural area but on a busy road. I don’t know if this gang were watching me to see when I’d go out, or if they called randomly. It’s very disturbing to think someone could be watching you.”

She added there were three homes targeted the night her house was burgled.

“I could see in the windows that the house had been ransacked, so I called my local garda station and explained what happened and that I didn’t want to go into the house until they arrived.

“I was told there would be a car with me in 15 or 20 minutes, but 35 minutes later nobody had arrived so I called back. I was told the garda shift had changed at 7pm and again that there would be someone with me in 15 or 20 minutes, but still nobody arrived.

“I called Sligo station twice and nobody answered, so then I rang another station but someone in Sligo answered the call,” the woman added.

When she asked about the delay she was told to ring the superintendent or a local representative, but was also told a car would be with her shortly.

She then rang a local politician and explained what was happening.

“He made a call and 20 minutes later a garda car arrived – nearly three hours after the burglary,” she said.

“The system is wrong. There seems to be no method for dealing with these burglars. The gardaí aren’t properly resourced.

“There should be no way these guys come and do what they do and not have a fear of being caught. I’m in good health and I don’t consider myself elderly, but I was putting myself in the shoes of someone in their 70s or 80s, standing out in the cold on a winter’s night for nearly three hours waiting for a guard.

“We assume the garda force is there to protect us, but they are not equipped for what we have to deal with. And even if a garda set up a roadblock and caught these guys, what would happen?

“There would be free legal aid for people who might have multiple convictions. There should be no second chances. A person can make a mistake once, but after that free legal aid should not be granted.

“The system works against the gardaí and the law-abiding public. It’s troublesome. You can’t have gangs coming into your house willy-nilly and do what they do with no prospect of being caught. It’s a feeling of anger I have that you pay your taxes and abide by the law like you should, but there are no rules for these gangs.

“The Department of Justice and the judiciary needs to implement a system that allows gardaí to do their work. Otherwise there will be more cases like Tom Niland. The judicial system needs to be one where there is a fear of something happening if you get caught.”

A Garda spokesperson confirmed an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

The spokesperson said: “Gardaí are investigating the incident of a burglary in County Sligo that occurred on Tuesday 25th January 2022 at approximately 6pm.

“A number of possessions were taken in the course of this incident.

“No injuries were reported, no arrests have been made as of yet.”

The spokesperson did not comment specifically on the claims made by the woman.