Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I have to make the case again that the expanding communities I represent need more gardaí. When we look at the overall number of new gardaí and the proportion that has come to my area, it is clear we are not getting a fair share. The communities I represent are growing. Unfortunately, despite the national figure quoted by the Minister, which shows a significant drop in burglary rates in November and December of 2017, we had the opposite experience, with a lot of thefts from cars and many burglaries. These mobile gangs to which the Minister refers have their homework done and they have clearly been surveying properties for God knows how long. The trend has been early evening burglaries when the home is empty and the gangs focus, in particular, on the older housing estates in my area.

This is a significant problem. What people want above all else is to see more gardaí. They want greater visibility, they want a local Garda station that works and that is open as much as it possibly can be to service their area. They want more Garda patrols and more checkpoints, and they want to see gardaí on the beat in the local community. The Minister hears this from all over the country but surely areas that are growing in population, where the demand is expanding, deserve to get extra resources. The fact is that we are not currently getting this and, in overall terms, despite massive population growth, my Garda district is still well below 2010-2011 Garda strength levels.

That is the key issue. I want to plant that seed. I ask the Minister to raise this with the acting Garda Commissioner and to try to get some practical progress, so people can see there is a change and that their area does matter for An Garda Síochána and the Minister.

See this speech in context