Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and her officials for coming in today. Since Fine Gael took over the justice Ministry in 2011, the population of the State has increased by approximately 1,400,000. However, I believe the Minister would accept that, in that time, there have been difficulties with Garda numbers, Garda morale and the presence of gardaí on the streets. They are common complaints we hear and I have no doubt that the Minister has also heard them.

I will pick up on something the Minister said in response to one of the other questions. She said she has heard that gardaí feel they cannot use their own judgment. Was that it? Did she say they felt they could not use their own judgment in effecting arrests? The justice committee was in Templemore only two weeks ago. I was impressed by the professionalism. The instructors were keen to impress on us that the college never closed. Government spokespersons have said the college closed but the instructors said that never happened. Gardaí feel under-resourced and underprotected. While the population of Dublin has increased by 30% or 40%, the Minister will agree Garda numbers have not kept pace.

Gardaí themselves feel under-resourced and underprotected. The Minister said they need the tools, technology and equipment but I was contacted by one garda from the outskirts of Dublin who said that, on the night in question two weeks ago, he went to Santry on the Thursday evening and discovered the body armour had run out and that there was none left. He felt that was a danger for members going into town. There was also no transport. We all know what had happened in town; 13 Garda vehicles were burnt. No vans were left. There were approximately 60 gardaí stranded in Santry. Some drove their own cars while others had to stop a bus and ask to be brought into the city centre. When they received their riot helmets, there was no radio transmission and they were hindered by not being able to hear commands from public order supervisors. Does the Minister accept that there has been a great failure in providing the right amount of tools, technology and equipment for gardaí who are called in to deal with a situation like that?