A public meeting on rural crime in east Galway tonight has heard people are living in fear.
Around 60 people attended the event in Dowd's in Glinsk, hosted by a group called Enough is Enough.
John Griffin, from Castlerea, told the meeting people are living in fear.
He said some people take turns going to Mass, with one person staying at home to mind their house, because of fear of a burglary.
Retired garda Tom Cunningham raised serious concern about the spike in burglaries in the region recently.
He says he's concerned a burglary victim will use a gun if someone breaks into their home.
"We don't want that sort of situation in rural Ireland," he added. "It's not conducive to anyone's wellbeing."
The closure of rural garda stations was also raised.
Mr Griffin called for rural crime to be the No 1 issue for politicians in the forthcoming general election.
He added: " I think it's going to be very important that they don't betray us, and go into government and form government alliances, and programmes for government, without a radical reform in rural policing.
"It will probably involve something as basic, in some cases, as reopening garda stations."
Another man said: "I have never seen such fear as there is at the moment."
Another man said there are extremely intelligent burglars at the moment, who see break-ins as their "bread and butter".
The meeting heard some local gardai have a lack of local knowledge and this needs to be addressed.
Castlerea councillor Gareth Scahill said there's a need for a new model for rural policing.
He said gardai need more equipment and more officers to support them to clamp down on rural crime.
East Galway councillor Declan Geraghty said the system is broken - and he blamed Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Justice Minister Helen McEntee for the problem.
He said gardai are not being paid enough and they don't have enough equipment. He said they are underresourced.
Independent Ireland TD Michael Fitzmaurice said, in the past, there was respect for gardai, whereas now that's no longer the case.
"Now the first thing that's put in a guard's face is a camera," he said.
He said we don't have enough prison capacity at the moment.
Deputy Fitzmaurice raised concerns about the amount of criminals getting free legal aid.
He said suspects should be locked up until their court cases, instead of being let out on bail.
Deputy Fitzmaurice said the legislation for installing CCTV cameras is over the top.
He said a lot of gardai have been suspended for "bullshit things".
"Everyone is entitled to justice," he said. "Anyone who raids a house is entitled to damn all."
He strongly criticised Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, saying the regionalisation of the force hasn't worked.
He said local gardai, with strong knowledge of the locality, is vital.
He said the force needs to go back to that model.
He also reiterated his call for bridges across the Shannon to be manned, to detect criminals before they commit a burglary.
Mr Griffin also said community policing is vital and criticised cuts imposed by the government.
Fianna Fáil senator Eugene Murphy said people in his own area of Scramogue - some distance away from Glinsk - are also "living in absolute fear". He said the Irish Council for Civil Liberties seems to be running the country, and have too much power.
He said he was at a funeral recently that had eight gardai in attendance, which was not required. He also said there are often six or seven gardai surrounding a government minister when they arrive in towns.
"There is no need to that," he added.
He said Tarmonbarry is only five minutes from Longford town, and Longford gardai used to police the area. But now he said gardai from Castlerea, around 50 minutes away, attend crimes in the area.
"That's a crazy policy," he said. "This commissioner has pissed off the force. The morale is low."
He also called for more suspects to be held in prisons on remand, adding: "Stop letting them out on bail."
Ballinasloe senator Aisling Dolan, from Fine Gael, said some of the points raised tonight are very important.
She said the court system is stuck in the stone age, with paper-based records and gardai spending hours waiting for a case to arise in court. "If we could streamline the court process, we would free up guards' time," she added.
She said homes and businesses in the area deserve the same protection as those in Dublin city.
She said there is a need for more gardai and the profession needs to be made more attractive.
She promised to bring Justice Minister Helen McEntee back to the area to witnesses the concerns over rural crime.
Sinn Fein TD Claire Kerrane said she had been engaging on this issue since January, when the burglaries commenced in west Roscommon. She said a lot of local people no longer know their local garda, saying we need to fix that.
She said community policing is a serious issue.
She claimed the Garda Commissioner refuses to engaged with local politicians. She said a rural garda plan is needed, for two specific types of areas: where a garda station has closed, and where garda numbers are down.
She also criticised the Justice Minister for allegedly refusing to engage on garda-related issues.
Ballaghaderreen's Michael Scally said the morale among gardai in the county is very low.
He said people have been driving around his area for 15 years with no insurance.
He said there is no confidence in the Garda Commissioner.
He said we are told Roscommon is one of the safest counties in Ireland, when it comes to crime, but he doesn't believe the statistics are an accurate reflection of the issue.
He said the next three or four weeks are vital, referencing the general election campaign.
He said we need extra gardai in the county.
A prison officer said prisons don't work, adding: "It's a holiday camp for them."
He said society as a whole needs to be looked at. "The laws we have been brought into this country make it nearly impossible for them to do their job," he added.
Councillor Anthony Waldron, who organised the meeting, said he had spoken to victims, including a 93-year-old lady in Ballintubber.
He said foreign nationals who commit crimes should be deported and not sent to jail.
He said if the recent spike in burglaries continues, insurance premiums will increase considerably.
Local man Larry Cunningham said, as a last resort, people should take out the "double barrel".
A local serving garda said he agreed with most of what had been said.
He said garda numbers have gone "horrifically low".
He encouraged people to share information with their community gardai.
He said garda numbers are even worse in Castlerea than in Tuam, where he serves.
He said resources and numbers - and "boots on the ground" - are major issues for the force.
Deputy Fitzmaurice said drugs is a major issue in the area, and young, innocent people's lives are being lost.
He strongly criticised drug-dealers who are making money out of the issue.
Mr Griffin said the community must not become overrun by drugs. He said the cocaine epidemic is huge.
