The Garda had recently put a number of visible patrols into the Sliabh Beagh area and had featured illegal activity taking place there in its social media campaigns, Garda Superintendent Pat O’Connell told last week’s meeting of the Co Monaghan Joint Policing Committee. Sinn Féin member of Monaghan Co Council Cathy Bennett had raised the issues of cars being burnt out in the Sliabh Beagh area and of dead sheep and cows being dumped there.
She asked if there was a possibility of CCTV being deployed in this location. Superintendent O’Connell said the Gardaí had seized four vehicles and had identified a number of people involved in illegal rallying activities in the area. They had also engaged with Coillte who had erected safety barriers in the forest area, which had restricted the use of that area for rallying.
The Superintendent added that the dumping of animal carcases had only recently come to the Gardaí’s attention. They had liaised with the SPCA in relation to this matter and would liaise with the local authority and the Environmental Protection Agency. He said that such activity was very unwelcome for an area receiving a lot of positive attention for tourism and they did not want to see things spoiled for people visiting…
