Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Organised crime causes heartache and misery for communities. I stand full square in my support for them and the gardaí who stand up to these criminals every day of the week. We have to get to grips with the scourge of organised crime. Everything possible must be done to tackle all the causes so we can grasp it at the root because communities need protection. Vulnerable people need to be protected and the Garda needs to be resourced.

I am extremely proud to be the Sinn Féin spokesperson for addiction, recovery and well-being. We believe that recovery is not just an individual journey but one to be taken by families and communities. We believe it is time to resource recovery, support those who are on that journey and try to help repair the harm and damage being done to communities. I love to meet people to learn and hear their stories and get their advice. Those who work in the addiction sector have taught me so much over the almost three years I have been in this role. They taught me about their resilience, empathy and the passion they have for their sector. They have shown me that a real difference can be made in the lives of people, families and communities. They have also shown me, as groups and individuals, that recovery is possible.

They are doing all of this on a shoestring because of Fine Gael austerity measures in 2009 and 2010 that slashed and decimated services to communities and education task forces. We are now paying the price for the consequences of Fine Gael's actions during its 12 years in power. For the past two years, Fine Gael has brought in budgets for addiction services that are only a tenth of what Sinn Féin would bring in.

On top of this Fine Gael slashed Garda numbers, shut down Garda stations and reduced opening times. In the past decade, Fine Gael has brought An Garda Síochána to its knees. Sinn Féin would resource An Garda Síochána. We would resource addiction services, recovery services and communities.

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