Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for his reply and join him in paying tribute to the Garda for the work it is doing. I raised the issue of recent attacks on vulnerable people with the Minister of State, Deputy Dinny McGinley, during the Topical Issue Debate. Since these attacks, the level of concern in rural areas has increased significantly. In the light of the cuts in the Department of Justice and Equality, including to the community alert and senior alert schemes, I raised with the Minister of State the possibility that he, wearing his Gaeltacht affairs hat, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, wearing his community affairs hat, and the Minister for Justice and Equality would discuss whether additional funding could be made available to support the community alert scheme and, in particular, the senior alert programme. If Departments have underspent, they could release funding for the schemes in the coming weeks, thereby offering people a degree of security as we approach the winter months.

Last month, in response to an oral question, the Minister provided an update on the number of investigations that had taken place under Operation Fiacla. Will he provide a further update?

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