Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Let me reflect again for the Deputy. We already had the capacity to reopen the Garda College in Templemore to train new gardaí and dispense them around the country. The Government has decided to increase the Garda force to 15,000, but we cannot do this without a strong economy or providing proper training for young gardaí. As the Deputy will have known within the past few days, probationary gardaí are supervised in their training; therefore, we do not have situations which arose in the past when that was not the case. An extra €5 million has been provided to deal with the request from the Garda Commissioner in terms of the labour intensity of surveillance, dealing with gangland crime, interventions and the prevention of shootings or attempts to kill people. This is something with which the Garda force, in particular the Garda intelligence unit, has been dealing for quite some time. I accept that it is necessary for government as a whole to work with communities such as those in the north inner city to give them some chance and have a real opportunity. We would not be able to do this if we did not have resources in the economy to make some impact. In the past we have been blamed for being too focused on the economy. Believe me - we will go there, but we have to know how to link all of the agencies together, what the purpose of the north inner city task force is, what resources are required and what it is the leaders in these communities want.

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