Policing event: Residents in Clane, Co Kildare, have complained that Garda services have been seriously depleted due to the Ryder Cup in the K Club, leaving the town to cope with increased traffic congestion and an influx of tourists.
Clane Garda station, which normally operates from 10am to 1pm and services around 6,000 residents, has been operating inconsistent hours since last Thursday, leaving residents to contact Naas Garda station, according to Paul Carroll, chairman of Clane Community Council.
The town of Clane is located around five kilometres from the K Club in Straffan where the Ryder Cup starts this week.
"To then be officially told by the gardaí in Naas that the gardaí in Clane have been reassigned to the K Club for the Ryder Cup is shocking. That this is their official line is really unbelievable," he said.
"Apart from the fact that with extra traffic and an influx of tourists we might have expected more gardaí rather than less, it has become noticeably more difficult to have even quite serious incidents dealt with."
However, Garda sources said that while the normal quota of one sergeant and six gardaí to the town of Clane would be reduced to three gardaí over the course of the Ryder Cup, the station would open daily.
Mr Carroll insisted, however, that a serious incident, which occurred in the Clane area last week, had still not been dealt with by Naas or Clane gardaí.
Due to the town's close proximity to the K Club, residents have organised a series of activities to mark the advent of the Ryder Club and are expected to draw increased numbers to the town, according to Mr Carroll.
The lack of Garda resources in Clane has been a contentious issue for years, with residents arguing that based on the population, the area should be serviced by two sergeants and 10 gardaí, as opposed to the current quota of one sergeant and six gardaí.