Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. This is the third occasion in the past month on which I have raised directly with him the issue of garda numbers and crime-related matters in County Meath. I fully appreciate that in our earlier exchanges, the Minister dealt with the macro issue of Garda resources on a national level. I will continue, however, to press the case for Meath for the simple reason that it has been left behind when it comes to the core principle of the deployment of resources. The figures for the county clearly show that. I stated in my earlier conversations with the Minister that I am not here to try to score political points but to articulate the real concerns of the chief superintendent, Mr. Fergus Healy, who is crying out for the allocation of additional resources.

I have brought to the attention of two different Garda Commissioners at two separate meetings of the Committee of Public Accounts this year the shocking incidence of gangland crime in the county, conscious that it is the Commissioner who has legitimate power when it comes to the deployment of resources. I am asking the Minister to engage with me in a new way on this matter and to look at it with fresh eyes. The traditional way of allocating resources, by way of the Commissioner, does not reflect the changes in settlement patterns in this country. As a result, places like Navan, Trim, Oldcastle and Athboy have been left under-resourced. Given the settlement patterns along the eastern coast, we must acknowledge the pressures under which gardaí in those areas are operating and that the traditional methods of resourcing are not doing the job.

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