Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

The growth of Tallaght has put great pressure on such facilities, however. As one comes into Tallaght on the Luas, one can see the 25 cranes which are being operated in the town centre.

I am arguing, in the context of this legislation, that Tallaght needs more gardaí because it has changed over the past 15 years. It was a different place two years ago and it will be different in five years. There is a strong case for a substantial increase in Garda manpower in Tallaght. I do not want to fight with anyone in the House because we are all entitled to argue that small Garda stations in little villages need increased manpower. I have no problem with such claims, which I support in a general way. In that context, I suggest that the strength of the Garda in Dublin South-West, specifically in Tallaght, needs to be examined. That is a reasonable point to make during a debate on this legislation. All Deputies have argued that increasing the visibility of gardaí on the beat is the best way to deal with petty crime, such as vandalism, and to develop good relations between communities and the Garda.

I visited the city centre last Saturday evening for the Skyfest fireworks display, which was a great event for Dublin. There had been some mayhem in the preceding two days so it was noticeable that there was an impressive physical Garda presence. Members of the force could be seen at every street corner and on every doorstep. I think people responded in a positive way to their presence. I was too busy on Sunday to read newspaper reports of the event, but I suspect there was no real trouble in Dublin on Saturday night, especially when compared to St. Patrick's Day.

The authorities should learn a clear lesson that putting gardaí on the beat is the best way to make progress, in my constituency and elsewhere. I hope the Minister will take note of the need for additional gardaí during the debate on community policing. He should consider that such a need exists in the major population centres as well as in rural areas. He should ensure that the new gardaí who are being trained are not deployed behind desks or in squad cars. They should be deployed on the streets, where they can interact with people and engage with communities. That is important.

Deputies who spoke about the development of the community policing model said that a great deal of good work is being done by many gardaí in the communities. My local community is no different in that regard. I agree with those who spoke about the promotion of community gardaí, which often happens on the basis of the interest they have shown in their work and the effective way in which they have done their job. I do not propose to prevent good gardaí from being promoted, but it is reasonable to suggest that some provision be made in this regard. A Deputy proposed yesterday that a system should be put in place to ensure that a community garda who is doing an effective job, for example by looking after communities, making progress with the community policing concept and developing neighbourhood watch schemes, can continue in that role for at least two years after he or she is promoted. It is important that we make such a provision.

I would like to speak about a particularly good submission that was made to the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights. The letter in question was written by a woman from Tallaght, strangely enough, who represents a community group. She made the fairly reasonable point that when the Minister is establishing local committees with local representation, as agreed, it is important he understands that such committees should not be allowed to become mere talking shops. I hope that meaningful models will emerge from the debates on this legislation so that progress can be made in respect of community policing. Communities will not buy into the process if that is not done.

I would have expressed my support for some of the provisions of the Bill if I had had enough time to do so. I look forward to continuing to follow the progress of the legislation. I will make submissions on it to the select committee that will examine it. I will read all the submissions received by the committee and I will listen to all the oral submissions made to the committee. I hope the House will appeal to community groups to continue to engage with the Oireachtas and to tell public representatives what they want in this regard. I expect the Minister and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to take action on the basis of the points raised so that progress can be made. I thank the Acting Chairman for his forbearance and wish him a happy Easter.

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