Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The Minister of State needs to examine his conscience over why it is that when the resources are being generated, his Government cannot get the health and education services right and cannot guarantee that ordinary people will be safe in their own neighbourhoods. The biggest problem is no longer centred on the economy but on society. We can analyse why that is so. It seems that, with our increasing wealth, we have generated a society where everything is about the self. There is a new culture of the individual and of individuals being mediated between each other by the market. There is less of an emphasis on issues like neighbourhood, community, society and even good behaviour. The result is that we have seen a disintegration of society in many parts of this country.

As Deputies, sometimes we have an obligation to reflect the reality of what is happening in our constituencies. This week, I spoke to the chairman of a residents' association who told me of an incident that happened on his estate recently. A man walking to the pub on a Friday evening was attacked and had his arm broken. I met a mother who told me of an assault on her son two years ago, when a rock was thrown at his head. He was in hospital for several weeks suffering from possible brain damage, yet his case has not yet appeared in court. I spoke to another mother whose 15 year old daughter had her hair set on fire with a cigarette lighter as she was travelling home from school on the bus. I spoke to a parent who told me she could not let her seven and eight year old children out to play on their own street because of the bullying, intimidation and physical abuse they were receiving. I spoke to another constituent whose car was damaged maliciously in his own driveway.

There seems to be an attitude in the Government that there is an acceptable level of criminal activity and that this will always be with us. It does not always have to be with us. We all agree that we adhere to the concept of freedom. Freedom is about more than the absence of a political oppressor. It is about more than economic exploitation. Freedom is the right of an individual to go about his or her business without being molested or attacked. It is about the right of a young male to be able to go out on a Friday night without fear of being attacked on his way home. It is about the right of a child to travel on public transport, be it from school or from some recreational activity, without being attacked. It is about the right of a woman to walk at any time of the day or night in her city, her streets or her neighbourhood without fear of molestation. That sort of freedom is being denied to too many citizens and it is not being vindicated by the actions of the Government.

Another aspect of the problem arises when people seek Garda assistance in such cases. I do not want my contribution to be regarded as having a go at the Garda Síochána because it is not. I have already put on record my appreciation of the work of the Garda Síochána. When an incident arises, however, and I ask constituents if they reported it to the gardaí, they often say they did not do so. This is because they were afraid to report an incident due to recriminations that might occur as a result. Typically, I am told the person does not want to report it because he or she does not want a stone through the window. Alternatively, I may be told it was not reported because nothing was done when previous incidents were reported, and that there is no point reporting it. When somebody does report an incident to the Garda Síochána I am often told that it took the gardaí too long to get to the scene of the incident to deal with it.

That raises the issue of Garda numbers and the way in which they are deployed. Three years ago, the Government promised the country it would provide 2,000 additional gardaí, but they have not yet been provided. In many parts of the country the Garda presence is inadequate. I agree with Deputy Cowley that the closure of rural Garda stations should not be happening.

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