Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)

I am sorry I am late. A few different committee meetings are on at the same time. Garda numbers in Cork are a particular local issue. From talking to businesses, people and tourists frequenting the city centre, people feel unsafe in the city centre, which is something we had never seen before and which may have been more closely associated with Dublin. I am not sure whether Senator Kelleher has raised this matter. It is something the business association and the chamber of commerce bring up with us quite regularly.

Looking at the Garda numbers from last year, three were allocated to Cork. In comparison with much more significant numbers being sent to places like Dublin, which I can understand, three seems like a low figure. Can the witnesses provide any kind of rationale as to why that would be the case? Is allocation solely dependent on crime statistics or is it dependent on the strength of local Garda representations to the Commissioner? How does that process work when it comes to divvying out the numbers?