Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

I convey our deepest sympathies and regrets to the families and friends of Pawel Kalite and Mariusz Szwajkos. Any event such as their murder is tragic but it is particularly hard for people in view of the very good relationship Irish people have in general with Poles, both within this country and with the nation of Poland. It is terrible.

The old adage of Franklin Roosevelt that "we have nothing to fear but fear itself" also holds sway in this debate. There is a danger we will become afraid and this fear will be engendered. There may not always be a proper reason for it, although the fear is justifiable in the case I have mentioned.

In general, there is no question that there is much good news on the justice and Garda front. We have a record number of gardaí in the country, which is an unquestionable achievement. Closed circuit television systems are being rolled out and it is about to be introduced to Drogheda very shortly, as the planning notices are up. That is a very positive step and we would like to see much more of it. I know the Minister is committed to it.

Joint policing committees will become more streamlined, particularly the committee in my county of Meath when it is up and running, with the changing of the divisional boundaries. That is a positive step, particularly in the commuter belt. Garda youth diversion projects were mentioned by Deputy O'Connor, who also stated that gardaí are moved on when they do a good job. I know a sergeant working in such a project and his main complaint was that people doing very well in that job were moved to other areas, causing the project to slip back a bit. That is a problem of success. In addition, I expect the advisory group on alcohol to make some fairly stringent recommendations. There is much good news on the justice front.

As the Minister knows, in my constituency we have serious issues relating to the numbers of gardaí assigned to the area. Only today the Minister met some residents from the area of Stamullen. I received a letter from Duleek community alert group today as well, which is very concerned about the lack of gardaí in the area.

We are speaking about community policing and in these areas within my constituency, we generally have very effective sergeants with a small complement of gardaí. The fact that the sergeants in Duleek, Laytown, Slane and Nobber are very well known in the community is a significant advantage. These are genuine community police officers but they are stymied in the work they want to do in the communities by lack of numbers.

In the area of Laytown, Bettystown and Mornington, the population is 8,978 and the Garda station covers a population of 18,916. However, there are only 13 gardaí in the station. Stamullen has a population of 2,487 and has no gardaí. As the Minister knows this is a difficult issue and although the Garda has made efforts recently, the people will only have full confidence when the commuter belt gets an appropriate number of gardaí. I know the Minister has done much work on the matter and has spoken to senior Garda officers on it.

There are many positive aspects to the issue. We cannot be led by fear all the time and we must move forward to get the existing policies right. The Dáil's condemnation tonight of what has happened recently sends out a very strong message and we are united in indicating we do not put up with such actions. We welcome Poles to this country and thank them for their contribution to society.

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