Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply and welcome all the positive things that are happening. Certainly, I welcome the recruits in Templemore. However, the reality is that of those who have graduated, only five have gone to the Tipperary division. Since then, they have been deployed to areas such as Kilkenny city and Waterford. While I know those areas want them as well, it is a sign of the neglect of rural Ireland. I ask the Minister of State and the Commissioner to address the issue of sending newly-graduated officers to Tipperary.

Second, there is an issue with the Judiciary which must have a greater understanding of the effects of crime on rural areas and the people who live in them. They must be more alert and more aware of that effect when they dismiss cases on incidental grounds and release people. There must be a greater awareness among the Judiciary on the implementation of the law. Finally, the public must be alert, vigilant and more careful with and enhance their security. Some of the inflammatory language that is used is more of an assistance to the criminals than to anybody else. It portrays a story to them.

To recruit 500 gardaí per year is fine, but I ask the Minister of State - and will ask the Minister for Justice and Equality herself - to address the urgent need for a once-off recruitment of 1,000 gardaí to bring the force back up to its optimum level and to facilitate the visibility the Commissioner said today is the answer, namely, visibility in rural areas. Everybody must work together. This problem must be resolved and there needs to be an urgent and prompt reaction to places such as Littleton when incidents happen rather than to wait for legislation.

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