Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yes. I want to use this opportunity to talk about issues in my constituency. The Drogheda district forms part of the Louth division, which encompasses the greater Drogheda area right out to Clogherhead village on one side and Dunleer village on the other side. In 2010 we had 109 gardaí assigned to this area. We now have just 95 gardaí, down by 14 since 2010. This week an armed robbery was carried out on the post-office in the rural village of Clogherhead. Despite the fact that this was a terrifying ordeal for the staff, they managed to phone the Garda and press the panic button. It took 20 minutes for the Garda to respond to this armed robbery, although the Garda station is just one minute away. Finding a garda present in Clogherhead Garda station has become absolute pot luck, as there are no official opening times for the Garda station, and it is the same in Dunleer village. Drogheda town is a large urban centre and as a result has problems that are similar to those of any other large urban centre - no more and no less. However, it has now got to the stage at which some people have almost given up reporting crimes because they have no confidence in any follow-up. This is wrong and it is solely down to cuts and a lack of resources.

Community gardaí are becoming disengaged and disenfranchised from their communities and from community policing because they are being given other tasks. The good work that was done through community policing over the years is now being undone. Neighbourhood watch schemes are being put on the shelf. Schemes that were set up over a year ago have not been implemented. I am aware of applications from three estates that have not received so much as a phone call. This is worrying because the implementation of these schemes makes for a more efficient network.

This disengagement with communities, community policing and community gardaí is due to a lack of resources and cuts; it is not the will of gardaí, who do great work and who are constantly overstretched. It is common knowledge in Drogheda that there is frequently only one marked car on duty to respond to calls. It is also common knowledge that gardaí no longer work in a proactive manner, merely a reactive manner. Morale is at an all-time low, as it is in communities, and many crimes are going unreported and unsolved because of this. This needs to change. The Garda needs further manpower and resources if it is to do its job effectively. Turning a blind eye to resourcing of community policing has compounded the problems tenfold for communities across the State. Proper community policing is needed. Perhaps the Minister for Justice and Equality, or the incoming Minister, could clarify the plans to undo these problems and the damage that has been done over recent years. What are the plans to reinvest in and resource An Garda Síochána to make our communities safer?

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