Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Although the catalyst for this process, which had cross-party support in the House, was probably the spate of gangland killings that blighted and gave a negative view of this remarkable area, given the day that is in it and in the teeth of the controversy about An Garda Síochána, it is an appropriate moment to say that the Garda has done terrific work on this issue. This is coming directly from the community. We should say it on the day that Garda morale has been impacted by other developments. There are exemplary gardaí doing work on the ground.

I am interested in asking the Taoiseach about the implementation of the plan. He stated that it would be published at the end of the week. What will the Government do with it then? What is the implementation strategy? When we discussed this at the beginning, the idea was that we would have all-party buy-in and a commitment to fixed resources over time so that the plan would be an exemplar to be replicated in other socially disadvantaged areas. What is the Government going to do once the plan is published? What is the implementation procedure? Does it involve the House debating, deciding and committing ourselves over a number of Dáileanna to ensure that the proposals are implemented?

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