Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I ask the Minister to look at the file. Is he seriously telling me that the file prepared for Question Time does not have the figures about which I asked? Is he seriously coming in as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and telling me he does not know how many gardaí came out in the first term? Does he think I came down in the last shower? How many gardaí came out in the first term and how many more will come out for the three remaining quarters of this year? If he does not know that he should not be in the job.

The Minister must wake up every morning thanking his guardian angel. The country is coming down with crime, there are killings every weekend, anti-social behaviour is rife and, when Deputy Ahern was on this side of the House, if a letter went missing in the Department he was jumping up and down on the shoulders of the man who is now the Ceann Comhairle. It is an unbelievable crisis. The country is in mayhem. If the Government had not made such a mess of the economy, this would be at the top of the agenda. The Minister comes in and tells this House he does not know how many gardaí will qualify in 2009. He is making a farce out of Question Time.

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