Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on this motion brought forward by my colleague, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan. Crime is a serious issue in all communities, both rural and urban, as the Minister is well aware. I attended a public meeting last Thursday night in Rathcoffey, which is one of many rural communities in my constituency. It was attended by 120 people. The two main issues that arose at the meeting were additional resources on the ground and the bail laws. There is a massive problem when people caught committing an offence are visible in the community within 24 hours. This is very upsetting for the victims and all who suffer as a consequence of the crime.

In Kildare at present, we probably suffer more than most. Kildare is a commuter county on the outskirts of Dublin. It has one garda for every 650 people. Most other counties have perhaps one garda for every 400 people. While we are waiting on resources to come through, perhaps the Garda Commissioner could rebalance resources to help counties such as County Kildare, which is suffering drastically, has very low Garda numbers, is under-resourced and is a target for crime. We need to see the imbalance addressed as a matter of urgency to help people living in both urban and rural communities.

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