Garret Kelleher (Fine Gael)
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I will go back to Cork, but I know it is not an issue that is unique to Cork as Senator Gallagher and others mentioned issues with numbers and seeing gardaí on the beat. Certainly in the four months I have spent as a Member of the Oireachtas in Dublin, it is abundantly clear to me that seeing gardaí on patrol in Dublin is much more common. There are concerns in Cork about the safety of the city centre and that is based on the lack of visible Garda presence in the city centre. That needs to be addressed because there seems to be a disproportionate allocation of Garda resources to Dublin. In the past, after passing out gardaí were sent to Dublin for a probationary period of two or three years before being transferred elsewhere. That does not seem to be happening as frequently.

There is one issue specific to Cork. We are fortunate enough to have a Cork Taoiseach at the moment. The additional Garda resources relating to security of senior political figures come out of the jurisdiction in which that person resides. Surely that is nonsensical because it is an additional drain on resources in Cork. Would it not make more sense for those additional resources to come from a central unit rather than being taken locally?