John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Likewise, I acknowledge the increase in Garda numbers, but what people want to see, which is the age-old challenge, is gardaí on the streets. Be it the area covered by Tallaght Garda station, the area that is in need of a Garda station in Citywest, or Rathfarnham Garda station, which covers Firhouse, Ballycullen, Knocklyon, Rathfarnham and Churchtown, the public never see a garda on the beat anymore. It instills a huge amount of confidence when they do. As a result, we have seen an increase, especially in recent times, in assaults as well as significant antisocial behaviour and criminal damage in our parks, for example, in Rathfarnham Castle Park, where there was an incident over a weekend ago, and in Sean Walsh Park, where there was criminal damage caused over the weekend with fires started and assaults carried out. Parks should be safe spaces for people.

I ask the Minister of State to bring this message back to the Minister and the Garda Commissioner. We need more gardaí on the beat and in the stations in Tallaght and Rathfarnham. People in those areas need to see a visible Garda presence which would demonstrate the fact the Government has committed additional resources to these stations. I work closely, through our policing committee in the constituency, with Chief Superintendent Duff and Superintendent Lackey. These are top-class police officers. In terms of surveillance of antisocial behaviour on the Luas red line, the gardaí do incredible work, but Tallaght Garda station, which is the mother-ship Garda station of my constituency, simply does not have the kind of numbers and resources it needs given the population it serves, which is the size of a city. That needs to be addressed seriously by the Minister and the Commissioner.

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