Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Sherlock for his presentation and for attending. He says that more often than not it makes more sense to ring a neighbour than to ring a garda. I can see where he is coming from in that regard.

Do our guests believe that communities need more communication among their members, more community spirit and to work together more? From my experience, strong communities that engage will fight the challenges of crime more than anything the Garda can do. One is never going to get the Garda numbers one would like. Of course, there should be a greater Garda presence in the countryside. However, as was stated in the earlier session, the amount of funding given to An Garda Síochána is on foot of a political decision. In the absence of sufficient State funding for policing, should greater effort be put into building stronger communities? There would be less isolation in rural areas if there were more communication between people. In northern Italy, there is far more community spirit. Older people in that region spend a great deal of time together. They come together to, for example, talk or have coffee and they know each other better. In Ireland, there is more isolation. Can we do more to address isolation? Every rural organisation has the potential to have an impact in this regard.