Mr. Drew Harris:

I will be careful not to refer to the specific incident, but I wish to declare my revulsion at it and express my hope that the injured party has made a good recovery and will continue to make progress. On the prevention of this type of incident, we are a police service, but a police service is, in effect, an extension of good citizenship. Our goal is to ensure that we can prevent and detect crime, with prevention being the most important element of that. We want the public to have confidence in An Garda Síochána and see it as a reassuring presence such that people know that if they see or hear something suspicious, they can make contact with the Garda and we will respond properly to that. It is to be hoped that through such co-operation we can prevent serious incidents such as that referred to by the Deputy from occurring. There are daily successful interventions through patrols, the use of intelligence and acting on information that comes from the public. We work best when we work closely with local communities and receive information which allows us to act on their concerns and prevent crime or, where crime occurs, apprehend those who engage in it. That is society's role in terms of good citizenship. We are here to protect members of society and will do our utmost in that regard. We are all dedicated to it.

Regrettably, I cannot give an assurance that an incident such as this will not happen again. I wish to ensure we work along with other agencies to minimise the chances of it happening by addressing the various factors involved, including the means of attack. Among the most important elements in so doing are our relationship with the community and how we act on any information we receive. If I may, I will speak privately to the Deputy after the meeting. If there is more we can do to reassure this particular family, we will do so.