Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the reply. There is some positive news in it, but in 2010 in the Longford-Roscommon Garda division there were 301 full-time gardaí. The Minister has given a figure of 309, ten of whom are community gardaí. That means that there are 299 full-time gardaí. We can compare that number with the figure in 2010 and see that it has decreased, albeit slightly. In the meantime, there have been many extra challenges for An Garda Síochána which we all know is doing a wonderful job. I accept that the Garda College was closed for a while, that there were some tough years and that in the past three years or so there have been improvements, but we need to put more effort into this issue and recruit more gardaí. I welcome the Minister's comments that new recruits will be deployed in the near future. In 2010 the Boyle Garda district had 41 full-time gardaí. There are 18 there today. I accept that there have been some minor adjustments in the locality, but there has been an overall drop in the number of gardaí serving there. In the Castlerea Garda district there has been a major drop in numbers. There are some new recruits who are badly needed.

See this speech in context