Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

There is a crisis of confidence in policing in many nationalist and republican areas in the North of Ireland. That is not a wild claim. It is a real issue. A PSNI report on policing in south Armagh stated that little progress had been achieved on policing in south Armagh since the Good Friday Agreement. South Armagh is not alone. I have spoken to nationalists from Tyrone and Derry who have told me that PSNI policing is heavy-handed and militaristic. This has created a significant divide in these communities. In 2019 and 2020, there were only 16 emergency calls made to the PSNI station in Crossmaglen. That is incredible. The Aontú councillor in Derry, Emmet Doyle, has asked me to invite the Chief Constable of the PSNI to the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement to discuss the policing crisis in many nationalist areas in the North. I have made this request and understand that the invitation has gone out. I ask the Taoiseach to speak to the Chief Constable of the PSNI to see if we can address the crisis of policing in nationalist areas in the North of Ireland. Will he use the British-Irish Council to fix this disaster?

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