Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I wish to share time with Deputy Tom Hayes. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue. The revelations of recent years, culminating in the Morris report, struck horror in the hearts of people who had great respect for the Garda through the years and who had been well served by the Garda. The Garda is, after all, what stands between us and anarchy and it is frightening for people to see such a systems failure, along with corruption, at the heart of what we regarded as a force above corruption.

A complete change is needed to deal with the issues that have been highlighted and to equip the Garda to address the changing face of Ireland, the type of crime evident today, rising crime levels and the nature of crime. Mindless crime still exists but very sophisticated crime has grown. Cold, calculated crime and violent, brutish behaviour are incomprehensible to people and a different kind of force is needed to deal with them.

I want to talk about traffic management.

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