John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. A number of weeks ago, Councillor Trevor Gilligan and myself attended a public meeting on this issue regarding resources in the greater Rathcoole area. It was very well attended. People spoke of their own particular incidents and the response from An Garda Síochána. It is not only the case that they want a Garda presence. There is a physical record of an increase in crime, as reported at the joint policing committees, JPCs. Burglary, for the first four months, in comparison to the previous ones, was up almost 50%. Criminal damage was up 47%. Theft from motor vehicles was up 67%. Public order incidents were up 57%.

The Minister stated in his reply that there would be a further deployment. I acknowledge fully that it is not up to the Minister to allocate the resources from Garda station to Garda station but, as a public representative for the area, an area whose population believes it is being ignored and is missing out, I see no evidence to suggest that any of the additional deployment that has occurred to date has materialised in the Rathcoole area. Therein lies the problem. DMR west may well be increasing, but the number of gardaí, at 14, is the lowest since last year, at 13. At 13 and 14, respectively, it is the lowest ever recorded. In every other station, we are seeing the increase in resources the Minister talked about. People in Rathcoole deserve the level of service the Minister talked about in terms of a physical presence. It is not happening.

I need the Minister to bring this point directly to the Commissioner and to say to him that the Government is making additional resources available, DMR west is benefitting from it, but the area around Rathcoole, Newcastle and Saggart has a minuscule number of gardaí, an ineffective and inefficient number to police the greater area that it is supposed to cover. I appeal to the Minister to make that plea to the Garda Commissioner. I acknowledge that the numbers are being deployed in DMR west. I am specifically saying we need to increase them in Rathcoole.

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