Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)

It was the worst ever performance by the Progressive Democrats Party. If I was the Minister of State, I would be in Limerick knocking on doors. He will soon have to do so.

Having listened consistently to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform since he took office, he appears to have a monopoly on wisdom during every debate. He is the best man I have ever seen putting across a case, which, as a senior counsel, he is trained to do. Nevertheless, he always does so on the basis of what he thinks is right and never goes to the trouble of finding out what the stakeholders want. On this occasion, the café bar proposal appeared sexy, the kind of thing that would suit people in Dublin 4. The Minister soon found out how sexy it was when he went in among the wolves yesterday.

I would love to discuss the issue for much longer but only have a couple of minutes to speak. The main issue is one of enforcement. While we have no great shortage of laws, somehow we appear unable to ensure compliance with them. The Minister of State, like me, has been around for long enough to know that. In the dead of Friday and Saturday nights, not only in Dublin but in small towns and villages, the doors of discos open to let gangs out on the street. Can one expect two gardaí in a patrol car — if the town is fortunate enough to have such — to be able to control a group at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m.? Can the Minister of State imagine the effect this has on elderly people trying to sleep at that hour of the night?

The Progressive Democrats Party was returned to Government specifically on the basis of its proposals to ensure we got a handle on anti-social behaviour. It promised to increase Garda numbers by 2,000. I heard its leader, the Tánaiste, state this morning that Garda numbers were increasing all over the country. Garda strength has increased by a total of 47 gardaí in the three years since the Minister of State was appointed to his current position. The remainder of the additional recruits replaced gardaí who retired.

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