Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If it is on the decrease nationally, then obviously that is welcome, but it is not in Cork - that is a fact. It is up 10% with one burglary every day and more besides.

The Minister may or may not be aware of it, but the Tánaiste came out with a statement some weeks ago and said that the southern divisions would get 50 extra gardaí. It turns out not only are we not getting the extra allocation but we are not getting the ten that were promised either. They have now been diverted elsewhere. We have got 2.4% of the gardaí who have come out of Templemore in recent years. Cork is being neglected. There is no question about that. Given the size and growth of the population it is simply not good enough. The Garda locally does not have the resources to properly patrol its areas or tackle emerging crimes. That is simply a fact.

In Britain there are often issues following thefts and burglaries in cases where valuable property is stolen. Most of the time the property cannot be returned. Has the Minister examined the national mobile property register in Britain to see if a similar facility can be put in place here? That would enable people to be reunited with their property.

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