Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Commissioner Harris and his team. I am delighted that their mission for the next three years is to keep people safe. There was a serious incident in Blackrock, Dundalk, at approximately 2.50 p.m. on 10 August. A 93 year old man was working in his garden when another man walked up and asked him for some water. The elderly man went to his back garden to get the water and the other man stabbed him. The pensioner's wife was looking out the window and the attacker cleared off. This occurred in daylight in front of a Garda station, a community centre and a school. There was significant footfall in the area. The attacker had no fear whatsoever. This is about keeping people safe. The man who was stabbed spent weeks in hospital. His wife, who was in the kitchen when he was stabbed, would not return to her home. Their family is in serious fear. The entire community wants to know what is being done. The family are very unselfish. They are not worried about themselves but rather elderly people in urban and rural areas. There is much discussion of new plans going forward. This family wants to know what the Commissioner can do to ensure that this type of incident does not happen again.