Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Living in a safe and secure environment has to be our number one priority, both in our homes and our communities. The closure of rural Garda stations in County Kildare has been devastating. The resulting burden placed on the remaining Garda resources in County Kildare is far too much.

County Kildare currently has a ratio of one garda to every 697 people, which is way below the national average of one garda to 335. In fact, the Kildare ratio is the worst in the country. This leaves us with further exposure to crime because an increased Garda presence is linked to lower crime rates.

Last night in County Kildare there was one Garda on duty for every 15,000 people. Our county is exceptionally under-resourced and the problem has been exacerbated by the closure of Garda stations in Ballitore and Ballymore Eustace. Only last week, I tabled a parliamentary question to the Minister for Justice and Equality asking about the basis for these closures and whether they were in any way related to crime statistics. The written reply, which was benign to say the least, stated, "The closures have allowed front line Garda to be managed and deployed with greater mobility, greater flexibility and in a more focused fashion particularly with regard to various targeted police operations." I am afraid, however, that is not how the people of Kildare see it, as crime statistics have risen steadily in line with a decrease in law enforcement available on the streets of towns such as Athy and Newbridge.

The opening of the M9 motorway was welcomed throughout the county and has benefited many areas commercially, as any improvement to infrastructure would. However, this enhancement of road systems which are also used by criminals, must surely be matched by a police force which has enough manpower to manage the influx of crime that may occur.

Nationally there has been a decrease of 2.2% in theft and related offences, but the transfer of resources from County Kildare has rendered this area of the country extremely vulnerable where such crimes have practically doubled in the same timeframe.

Kildare does not have one community garda, but how can this be? How can resources be so misappropriated when, for example, a town such as Bray in County Wicklow has six community guards? This type of police work is what allows gardaí to know what is going on in a locality and to identify the threats within communities. Senior gardaí who are struggling to maintain control over a vast area are seriously concerned about their under-resourced force in County Kildare.

The Minister said that closures have allowed front-line gardaí to be managed and deployed with greater mobility, greater flexibility and in a more focused fashion, particularly with regard to various targeted police operations. Is the Minister referring to the 5,000 passport applications that were signed in Leixlip Garda station last year at approximately 20 minutes a go?

There is no doubt this is an important role which must be carried out in a thorough fashion. Is this the most efficient use of trained garda hours as crime increases in County Kildare, however? Surely, we need to examine recruiting civilians to take on these and other such administrative tasks.

Anti-social behaviour can have a significantly negative impact on all of our lives. Every single day, I hear stories of people making life difficult for their neighbours both in private and council estates, as well as in the rural countryside. There is a problem with the lack of a definition of “anti-social behaviour”, making it difficult to police. We need to have a joint societal role and responsibility in determining what is not acceptable behaviour. Anti-social behaviour is not tied to any particular age group. However, we need to work collectively with our younger population, parents and our education providers, as well as providing resources, to deal with this.

I commend those gardaí on the beat who have a difficult job and who need all our support. I also commend communities for text alert schemes. I work with the Rathangan and the LBDC, Lullymore, Barnaran, Drumsree and Cappanargid community alert schemes which add hugely to the safety of their communities.

Prisoners’ parole and politics do not mix. The Parole Board, established in April 2001, advises the Minister for Justice and Equality on whether parole should be granted. The final decision lies with the Minister. This should not be the case. Two aspects of the parole system are in urgent need of reform. First, the parole board needs to be put on a statutory basis and, second, the decision as to whether parole should be granted should be removed from the Minister and vested exclusively in a statutory Parole Board.

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