Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Sadly, a number of weeks ago a murder took place in Cahersiveen in south Kerry. Thankfully, we are not used to such events happening. In the aftermath of what happened, I assisted other locals in organising a very large public meeting that was held in Cahersiveen. It was attended by many public representatives and, very importantly, by our Garda superintendent, Flor Murphy, from Killarney Garda station and the local sergeant, Michael Murphy. We appreciated very much their attendance because the locals want to work with the local gardaí. More than 500 people were at the meeting, which was a great testament to the concerns the locals have about the well-being of their area. The area comprising Cahersiveen and south Kerry in general - including places such as Sneem, Castlecove, Caherdaniel, Waterville, Ballinskelligs, Portmagee, Valentia Island, Glenbeigh and Foilmore - is beautiful. We want to protect it and make it as safe a place as it always has been for the people who live there and those who visit. It is probably the most beautiful part not just of Ireland but of the western world and we want it to stay that way.

Unfortunately, as was identified at the meeting to which I refer, more resources are needed. We had our own dedicated superintendent in the Garda station in question for many years. We had more gardaí available there for many years. We had a second sergeant. I welcome the fact the very able, capable and hard-working local sergeant will be assisted by another sergeant in the near future. However, I want the second sergeant to be put in place as soon as possible.

Serious consideration should be given to putting a full-time superintendent back into south Kerry because the superintendent, Flor Murphy, has an amazing amount of work to do in the Killarney area due to the fact that it is so busy. It is my humble opinion, and that of the locals, that having to cover south Kerry and Cahersiveen is too much of the workload for one person. There is a great case to be made for putting a second superintendent back in the locality. The people there deserve this. On the night in question, 500 people turned up at the meeting. I appreciate the fact that local gardaí and the superintendent were present and answered all of the questions put to them. The people want reassurance. They want to ensure that their children will be safe. I compliment the Garda because a number of raids have been carried out since the meeting took place and these have resulted in illegal drugs being found and confiscated. We appreciate that very much. In the past, we have been let down in the context of resources. Gardaí are doing excellent work but they need more assistance and more resources to be made available to them.

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