Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Bawnboy is my home village. Nine Garda stations were closed in Cavan-Monaghan and I am sure the Minister will come around to ensuring a few others are reopened as well.

I do not think we can emphasise enough the additional and unique policing demands in our Garda division because of the long Border with Fermanagh, Tyrone and Armagh. The Minister participated and contributed handsomely to the Fresh Start agreement and all Members supported his work. At that time, I proposed the establishment of a cross-Border crime agency to deal with the illegal trade in goods on an all-Ireland basis. In fairness, the Fresh Start agreement incorporated some of the measures we had proposed in our cross-Border crime agency Bill to ensure that the new measures that were put in place were effective. In counties such as Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and neighbouring areas along the Border, the Garda Síochána needs additional resources. I appeal to the Minister to ensure that the Garda Commissioner and the senior people in An Garda Síochána who make the decisions on the allocation of resources are ever mindful of the particular policing needs in our division and in other Border areas.

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