Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am aware juvenile crime continues to be a major problem in Ireland. Roughly one in ten offences is committed by children. I say with my hand on my heart that in my constituency of west Cork youth crime is not the issue it is in other parts of the country. I do not shy away from the fact that in some towns and villages and various areas of west Cork, we have a certain level of youth crime. Overall we have a very honest community of proactive youths in west Cork. In saying that, I commend the work of the gardaí. One initiative in west Cork is the Garda youth awards which encourage and gives recognition to the positive actions of our youth in local communities. I had the pleasure of attending the 23rd annual west Cork Garda youth awards last November in the Beara Coast Hotel in Castletownbere. It was a truly enjoyable evening and I saw 19 awards being presented to young people from various backgrounds who all contributed to their local communities in various ways. It was not my first time attending the Garda youth awards and each year I am amazed by how much these young people are doing in their local communities. I strongly believe initiatives like the Garda youth awards help to keep young people on the straight and narrow. It helps them to get a sense of reward from contributing to their local community. Further to this, the Garda youth awards help our local gardaí to form a positive relationship with the youth in the area and to keep young people out of trouble. The role of the gardaí in rural Ireland is very important in crime prevention. Gardaí work hand in hand with the local community and community groups. I can see first-hand the tremendous work carried out by our rural gardaí. I and many others value the work they do in rural Ireland and throughout west Cork. This is one of the main reasons I have fought so relentlessly to keep our rural Garda stations open. The prolonged closure of rural Garda stations around the country is without a doubt a big factor in the increase in anti-social behaviour among our youths. In west Cork, I have seen a number of Garda stations close, including Castletownshend, Ballygurteen, Goleen, Adrigole and Ballinspittle. During the talks to form a Government, I, along with the other Rural Independent Deputies, highlighted the mistake that was made by the last Fine Gael-Labour Party Government in closing the rural Garda stations. During those talks, it was agreed by the present Government to reopen a number of Garda stations. By agreeing to reopen a number of Garda stations, mainly in rural Ireland, the Government acknowledged the wrong that was done. Unfortunately, the Government has continued to make the decisions that make life very difficult for young people in rural Ireland. We are still urgently awaiting the opening of Ballinspittle Garda station. We have been told it will happen in one month and then another month but I want an exact date. I would like to get an exact date from the Minister of State tonight. It is vital that all our rural Garda stations reopen in order to allow us to nip crime in the bud and work with young people. Young people in the community are great but they are being treated terribly by the Minister, Deputy Ross, and his carry-on with his legislation that will throw them off the road. There is no resolution with regard to driver tests. There are many issues that are anti-youth and which need to be tackled by the Government rather than coming down on the people of Ireland.

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