Gardaí in Dunmanway in west Cork have held a rally to highlight the need for a new premises and additional resources.
They have been working out of a rented three-bedroom house since 2002 after they were forced to leave their station because of health and safety issues, including rat-infestation and overgrown vegetation.
The temporary Garda station in Dunmanway, which is a terraced house, is without a cell, a proper interview room or parking for patrol cars.
Garda representative for Dunmanway Pat O'Sullivan yesterday said if gardaí made an arrest, they had to make a 26-mile round trip to deliver the prisoner to Clonakilty station. "Unfortunately, it has come to a stage where we can only deal with one situation at a time. If we are absent from Dunmnway for an hour, maybe more, they [ thugs] take full advantage of it.
"There is in the hinterland of Dunmanway a group of thugs who are running lawless. They are approaching the likes of Dunmanway at weekends because they know policing levels are not what they should be."
Garda O'Sullivan continued: "We have had gardaí seriously beaten and squad cars subjected to arson attacks. It is a shocking example of the neglect which gardaí in this town continue to suffer."
Two gardaí had to retire on medical grounds following an incident while on patrol in December 2003. Since then two others have been injured in public order incidents in the area.
Resources are also stretched because gardaí who retired from neighbouring Ballygurteen and Drinagh in recent years have not been replaced. Personnel from Dunmanway have responsibility for policing those areas.
Only one garda is on duty at any one time on week nights. Dunmanway, with a population of 2,500, has just four gardaí and one sergeant.
Twenty-five members of the 28-strong Garda Representatives Association national executive attended the protest. GRA general secretary PJ Stone described the situation in Dunmanway as "a national disgrace". "What is happening here is symptomatic of what is going on in rural Ireland," Mr Stone said. "We are extremely concerned that if someone doesn't take a stand, one of our members will be seriously injured or perhaps killed."
The GRA protest in Dunmanway was timed to coincide with the opening of a new Garda station in Bantry, Co Cork, by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell.
The GRA began campaigning for a new station for Dunmanway in 1981. Gardaí moved in to temporary accommodation three years ago after the Department of Justice indicated that funding was to be made available for a new premises.
In a Dáil reply to Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe last week, Mr McDowell said he was aware of the accommodation difficulties facing Dunmanway.
He said the Office of Public Works was endeavouring to acquire a small piece of land at the back of the old station to allow access to the site. An OPW spokesman said yesterday it was finalising legal details with owners of properties adjacent to the old Garda station.