Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response but the language in it does not give me much comfort. It states: "... I understand from An Garda Síochána that proposals for a new station will be considered as part of the next Garda accommodation programme". The assistant Garda commissioner announced in June 2019 that it would happen. I worry when I see words like "proposals" and "considered" in the Minister of State's reply. I appreciate his comments about the proposed commission for the north side and Drogheda. This issue is not about police alone. We cannot police our way out of a murder triangle, so to speak. A commitment to establish a commission was made by an outgoing Minister for Justice and Equality of a party that is still in government. As such, that should be considered and we are waiting for that to happen. The issue of whether it will happen is not up for discussion. A commitment was made in the heat of the general election campaign. That is what it took for a commitment to be made to establish a Mulvey-style commission for the north side of Dublin, and not just to discuss policing. It is all very well to talk about the policing element but there is so much more to talk about, for example, education, oral language, literacy, diet, access to employment, housing, transport, health and other issues. That is what the Mulvey commission in the north inner city was about. That commission was successful to a degree. It has successfully cut through the red tape and created immediate access for the community by allowing their concerns to go straight through to the decision-makers rather than, unfortunately, all the bureaucracy.

I need a firmer commitment on the Garda station, which was a commitment made by the assistant Garda commissioner. I also need a date for the establishment of the Mulvey-style commission on the north side and in Drogheda, to which the Minister of State's party committed in the general election. It is still in government and, indeed, still holds the Ministry for justice.

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