Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The national broadcaster went to film "Prime Time" in Phyllis Magee’s house. All the national radio stations and newspapers have focused on Donegal. They can see that we have a crime emergency in the county. Yet the Minister for Justice and Equality said on our local radio station that nothing unique is happening there.

He could have delegated his Minister of State to cover the business in Dublin Castle in order to come to County Donegal, but he is out of touch. Perhaps the Minister of State, Deputy Perry, will communicate to the Minister that people on the ground in Donegal, particularly our elderly citizens, are terrified. They need to see clear, decisive leadership and a clear priority being given to the county until this matter is sorted out. No amount of spin about Garda numbers, vehicles, stations and rosters will cut it, because we know both from gardaí on the ground and from the GRA, which has destroyed the spin during the past year, that these assertions do not stand up to scrutiny. Let this matter be a priority and let the Minister show decisive leadership and take action to deal with it as soon as possible.

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