Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am telling Deputy Martin that in the interest of public safety and public accuracy the Garda Commissioner has asked the president of the GRA to substantiate his claims of manipulation of crime statistics. The Government fully respects the work that gardaí carry out day and night on front-line services as the only line between the criminal and the civilian. These are difficult economic times for many people. They are equally difficult for lower paid members of the public services and front-line workers in the fire brigade, the Defence Forces and the many areas in which front-line services are provided, as well as for people in general. Nobody underestimates the scale of that. I want the Deputy to understand that the Government is fully committed to seeing that the men and women of the Garda force are given the equipment and facilities they need to do their job. This is why €9 million has been provided in the transport area in the past two years for the purchase and provision of appropriate Garda vehicles, as determined by chief superintendents and the Garda Commissioner and his staff.

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