Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The problem in County Meath is the population continues to increase and Garda numbers have not kept pace. There is also a significant motorway network traversing the county, which lends itself to burglaries. There are spates of burglaries in particular areas. Over a year ago, it was Duleek, then Donore, Stamullen and, most recently, the Kiltake-Moynalvey area where gardaí were injured during a spate of burglaries. The burglars were using the motorway but they are also aware of the lack of a Garda presence in large areas because of the lack of numbers. It is not the fault of gardaí.

The other issue is there is a large number of towns in other counties, which border Meath, and the gardaí stationed in them ordinarily cannot serve our county. I refer to Kingscourt, Drogheda, Balbriggan, Maynooth and Kilcock. In general, these gardaí cannot enter the county even though they are stationed on the edge of the county. In some cases, one can walk across the street in these towns into the county. That has to be addressed. People in these areas feel vulnerable. Somebody living outside Kilcock has to look to Ashbourne or even Layton for a Garda presence.

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