John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will try to stick strictly to the point. In the Minister of State's answer to this House, he said that during 2017 the number of gardaí increased to 13,551, an increase of over 600. Can he explain to us why, if we have 600 extra gardaí in the country, there is a decline in the number of gardaí in Dublin? Why are we not seeing the increases that are happening in other parts of the country? That is the crux of the problem. We have gone through every constituency and metropolitan region and we have highlighted the issues, and whether it is in regard to community gardaí, local drugs squads, traffic corps, all are showing a decline. That is why the Minister is not here. He sent in the Minister of State to say we have 600 extra gardaí but a decline in Dublin. That is the crux of the problem - the areas where we have more serious problems such as gangland crime and related crime have fewer gardaí. There has to be political accountability and a political response. We cannot preside over a continuous decline in the number of gardaí serving in the greater Dublin area.

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