Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I want to share with the House our collective revulsion at the killings that have happened in different parts of Dublin and Drogheda in recent weeks and to express solidarity with the communities in which these killings have happened. This is a matter which Cabinet discussed on Monday night at the specific request of the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, who represents Darndale and Coolock which are part of the constituency, and also the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Bruton. The Minister for Justice and Equality spoke with the Garda Commissioner about the matter today and intends to visit the area. I will do the same as soon as I can find a little time. The people who live in the north-east inner city, Darndale and Drogheda and in Corduff in my constituency are good, hardworking people. They have a right to feel safe in their homes and communities. We all share in that sentiment.

In terms of what the Government is doing, after many years of retrenchment and cutbacks as a consequence of a financial crash, which this Government did not cause, we have now fixed the economy and because of that we have been in a position in recent years to provide unprecedented resources to the Garda. The Garda budget has increased to €1.76 billion for this year, the highest allocation ever. The total number of gardaí is now back up to 14,000 and the figure reaches 17,000 if we include civilian staff. There is now an armed support unit in every Garda region and a 24-7 armed support unit in the Dublin area. There are 600 gardaí entering training this year. That does not mean a 600 increase in Garda numbers because there will be retirements but there will be a further increase in the number of gardaí this year. New headquarters have been established in Kevin Street, Galway and Wexford because it makes sense to have new modern Garda stations, not small ones based on an old fashioned policing model that dates back long before mobile phones and Garda cars. An additional €10 million has been allocated for the purchase and fit-out of Garda vehicles. Therefore, action is being taken.

The Garda has made a lot of progress in tackling the threat of organised crime. It behoves us to thank gardaí for that and offer our further support. The Garda is also working closely with colleagues in other jurisdictions in investigating the supply of drugs and guns. Intelligence-led policing, involving many Garda units around the country, is yielding significant results. I commend gardaí on their tireless efforts in continuing to tackle organised crime. They have had huge success in doing that in the north-east inner city, as they had prior to that in Limerick, and I every confidence they will do so again.

See this speech in context