Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is outrageous for the Minister to say in the House that there is no correlation between the closure of Garda stations and crime in particular areas. That is not what communities are telling us. I have attended about 40 public meetings around Ireland and a common message came from all of them, namely, that people want the presence of An Garda Síochána in their communities, which can be provided when there is a base and presence in an area. None of the compensatory follow-up actions promised by the Minister's predecessor, such as Garda clinics or the roll-out of mobile Garda services, was ever followed through on.

People need reassurance and to know that a member of An Garda Síochána is in the community. Unfortunately, that is not happening. The Government pointed to decisions taken in 2009. We know the facts of what happened then. It was this Government which kept the moratorium in place, while at the same time recruiting into the Defence Forces and other parts of the Civil Service and public service. Could we have an honest referee regarding this? Could the Minister ask the Garda Inspectorate to carry out an impact analysis of the areas to which I referred? It is a reasonable request which should be considered.

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