Coronavirus: PSNI defend southern shoppers coming into NI after clampdown on northerners going into Donegal

The PSNI has affirmed southern shoppers coming into Enniskillen, after concerns were raised about people coming in from the most Covid-19-infected area of the south.
By Philip Bradfield
Published 8th May 2020, 06:30 BST
ACC Alan Todd said many Republic of Ireland residents would find places like Enniskillen their closest town.ACC Alan Todd said many Republic of Ireland residents would find places like Enniskillen their closest town.
ACC Alan Todd said many Republic of Ireland residents would find places like Enniskillen their closest town.

A News Letter reader had expressed anxiety about the high volume of shoppers coming into Enniskillen from Co Cavan, the mostly highly infected southern county. Enniskillen is 11 miles away from the nearest border crossing.

Ahead of the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, the Garda and PSNI launched a joint crackdown on cross-border ‘holiday’ travel, with many checkpoints on both sides of the Donegal border with NI.

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However, sources said that up until then, there had been no visible checkpoints on the Cavan-Fermanagh border, something the Garda rejected.

Fermanagh UUP MLA Rosemary Barton then asked the PSNI to confirm it would be controlling travel into NI, as well as that going to Donegal.

“Given the PSNI and Garda had a significant May Bank Holiday weekend operation to stop travel from Northern Ireland into the Republic, I want reassurance that there will be reciprocal measures for those travelling from the Irish Republic into Northern Ireland,” she said, highlighting “the high levels of positive cases in border counties of the Irish Republic”.

The PSNI was invited to comment several times before Asst Chief Constable Alan Todd directly addressed the question. “Fermanagh’s proximity to the border with the Republic of Ireland means that for many residents in the south of Ireland, border towns like Enniskillen are their closest town,” he said. “Many people who live in the South of Ireland work in the Fermanagh area and avail of amenities there.

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“We will work closely with our colleagues in An Garda Síochána to discourage people from travelling excessively for non-essential journeys and police on both sides of the border carry out vehicle check points on a routine basis along it.”

“Enforcement of regulations, as they apply to residents of the Republic of Ireland, is a matter for An Garda Síochána. The simple health advice is to stay at home and only leave home when it is absolutely essential.”

Mrs Barton welcomed PSNI assurances that the Garda will now support their operations this weekend.

“This should help manage an anticipated high level of cross border traffic,” she said. “This should be to engage with the public and ensure there is a recognition of health and government guidance and regulations.”

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Hopefully the public will recognise the requirement for such management, she added.

Co Cavan and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council area, which share a border of over 40 miles, appear to be the most and least infected areas of the Republic and NI respectively.

Figures last week showed Cavan overtook Dublin as the most densely infected southern county, with 753.5 people infected per 100,000, compared to Dublin’s 684.6. In absolute terms 709 people in Cavan have tested positive compared to only 75 in Fermanagh and Omagh. However the figures are difficult to compare as the south has tested 4.5% of its population while NI has only tested 1.9%.