Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)

I am not going to play the bleeding heart violin, this kind of pinko lefty claptrap that gets thrown at the Green Party. I will not go on about the circumstances. However, the State will have to fork out a great deal of money on prison spaces unless it forks out slightly less now on an education system second to none. The Government should invest in primary education and proper child care facilities. Social problems are one of the main seeding factors in crime. The potential crimes of ten or 20 years time can be nipped in the bud today by making the appropriate investment.

The major issue about which people are concerned is a visible Garda presence on the streets. Lucan is the fastest growing town, while the population of north and south-west Clondalkin has mushroomed over the past 30 years, yet the number of gardaí deployed in these towns has not kept pace with the population increase. There is no way the additional 20 gardaí deployed in them over the past six years can cover the tenfold increase in the number of streets and roads. Above all, people want to see gardaí on the street.

I tabled a series of parliamentary questions to the Minister last month regarding my constituency. His replies demonstrate that, while Garda numbers in Lucan and Ronanstown stations increased by 37%, the population of Lucan south increased by 180%. There is no way, therefore, the Garda can cover the streets as well as they used to and that provides openings for opportunist politicians to engage in Garda bashing. One politician in my constituency has circulated leaflets about a guy who was attacked last February and he has stirred up fears about an anti-social behaviour epidemic. Anti-social behaviour is a universal phenomenon and it reflects the social problems in which the Government needs to invest. However, most areas are not subject to a crime epidemic in that while there is too much crime, it does not amount to an epidemic. People need to work with the Garda through the neighbourhood watch scheme and the proposed community fora to counteract this problem. However, it is wrong for meetings to be held where people are given an opportunity to spout their genuine fears and concerns but where, instead, the Garda on the ground are attacked. This results in political gain for the wrong reason.

The Minister needs to tackle the issue of Garda numbers. The lord mayor's commission, for example, estimates that for every ten gardaí recruited, only one is deployed on the street. Of the proposed 2,000 additional recruits, only 200 will be deployed nationwide when retirement, illness and so on are taken into account, which is a pittance. Four shifts — A, B, C and D — must be covered and there is no difference in the numbers rostered between day and night shifts when sickness and overtime are considered. More gardaí are needed on the street and there should be increased investment in Garda resources. Significant investment is also needed in mountain bike Garda units because they combine the best aspects of gardaí on the beat, which people want, and mobility.

The Government needs to invest in the causes of the social problems that lead to crime and it also needs to invest in the Garda so that it has the tools to do the job. The Garda does a good job with limited resources. The issues of Garda accountability and institutional racism also need to be tackled.

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