Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to get into an argument about numbers but we do not have more than 700 detox beds. We have 144 detox beds in the State. There are no stabilisation beds outside of Dublin; not one. We have more than 700 detox and rehabilitation beds, but we are talking about people who require some sort of stabilisation because they are required to be clean of drugs to get into a detox centre. It defeats the purpose on the first day. We need stabilisation beds.

I take on board everything the Taoiseach said. However, in the context of issue relating to the Garda, 2,800 recruits have come through Templemore, which was closed by Fianna Fáil, since it reopened. Does the Taoiseach know the number of them who have gone to Cork city? It is 69. Less than 3% of these gardaí have been deployed to Cork city. The unit which investigates sex crimes in Cork has been unable to keep up with new cases. On a busy weekend night recently, only two gardaí were available to patrol the city centre. This is the second largest city in the State and only two gardaí were available. There has been an increase in crime, particularly that relating to drugs, and we are seeing an increase in burglaries and aggravated assaults. Despite this, we have fewer gardaí. The Taoiseach will state that deployment is an operational matter for An Garda Síochána, but it is also a matter for Government when 2,800 gardaí have come through Templemore and only 69 were deployed to Cork city. That is just not acceptable to the people I represent.

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