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

I wish the Minister the very best in her role. I commend the work which An Garda Síochána has done in west Cork, from the chief superintendent down to every individual garda, in putting people first. Community policing has been at its best, as it should be. I have argued that gardaí who are appointed to an area should reside in that area in order to build a relationship with the community. It is not always easy to make that happen but that should be the case. It is proven that local community gardaí are invaluable.

The Garda Síochána has been allowed to hire cars from rental companies because of the Covid crisis. There were 210 in total distributed throughout the country. In my travels, I now see only two of these vehicles in west Cork, the most spread-out constituency in Ireland. Why were the vehicles in question not allocated equally throughout the country?

I thank all members of An Garda Síochána in west Cork. To say that they were excellent during the crisis is an understatement. Last night I attended a conference call community alert meeting as secretary of Schull community alert. The call was organised by Sergeant James O'Donovan and Superintendent Declan O'Sullivan and it gave communities like Bantry, Gortnaclooney, Kealkill, Coomhola, Borlin, Glengarriffe, Adrigole, Castletownbere, Drimoleague, Durrus, Ballydehob and Schull a chance to liaise with officers in west Cork and explain how each community has worked with An Garda Síochána through the Covid-19 crisis. The gardaí in question, along with Diarmuid Cronin of Muintir na Tire gave some great advice on what they have done to date and what they need to do, with the assistance of the community, during this Covid crisis. The Garda budget needs to be increased and a larger force is necessary.

The Government can no longer ignore or sweep under the carpet the need for funding for new builds for those in direct provision. I am well aware of suitable, more humane accommodation being made available for people in direct provision and of the fact that every effort is being made to ensure that this accommodation will not be considered. I know of a case where a very suitable building outside my constituency was available. From March, Ministers, including the current Minister, were written to outlining how people could live in very humane conditions, unlike those in which they live today. Unfortunately, there was no response. Why is this happening? Why is the Government not looking for a solution to this crisis? It is engaging in box-ticking exercise for the eyes of the world. The Government takes these people in but will not explain the conditions in which they live. This cannot be allowed continue. I urge the Minister to look at centres and the new builds which are being offered to the State for direct provision in order to help the people who come to the country to be treated in a humane and fair way.

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