Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, to the House and acknowledge his interest in the issue I am raising, namely, increased criminality and the ongoing drugs war in Drogheda. As the Minister will be aware, we had a briefing from the chief superintendent and superintendent in Drogheda outlining the difficulties and problems they are facing and the resources, commitment, drive and energy they are investing in the issue.

The fact is that they are doing their best, but they need more support. The Minister's visit to the Moneymore estate where some of the serious criminal activities in question have occurred was welcomed by the residents. It was important that he met the residents to discuss their concerns. The estate is behind the fight against crime and supports the Garda in its task in Drogheda.

The Garda overtime bill in County Louth is now higher than ever. In the past year the Louth Garda division has investigated five separate murder cases. The problem is that the cost of the resources which are rightly and properly put into solving these evil crimes is met from its budget without additional funding being allocated. This means that the day-to-day administrative budget of the Louth Garda division is reduced. While the support of the regional armed units in policing in Drogheda is welcomed, the cost is met from the budget for the Louth Garda division. Again, it means its resources are diminished significantly.

Dundalk and Drogheda are of equal size. However, last month Drogheda had 52 fewer permanent gardaí than Dundalk, which was unacceptable. I welcome the significant increase, with 18 additional gardaí in Drogheda which had a positive impact in increasing the visibility of the force in the town. The people of the town welcome the extra gardaí into the community, but they want to see more. Another difficulty is that after Christmas, 15 of the 18 additional gardaí will be deployed elsewhere, which is entirely unacceptable. It is not for the Minister or me to decide where gardaí go. I appreciate that the Minister has increased resources for the Garda and made every resource available to it. However, significantly more resources are needed. It is essential that additional permanent gardaí be based in the town of Drogheda to fight the crime in question, as well as for regular policing duties.

There is a CCTV system on the Moneymore estate, but it is not working. It is the duty of the county council to deal with this issue. It is in discussions with the Garda. However, nothing has yet happened. If the CCTV system was working, it could prevent crime. It would also give the people living on the estate in question security and the knowledge that anybody who broke the law in the estate through petrol bombing, for example, would be apprehended.

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