Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I was perplexed today to see reports in the media that gardaí are being sent to Disneyland in France to police tourist hot spots. I see the Tánaiste is perplexed by that as well. The facts are that we have migrant campsites being burned out literally a stone's throw from the Dáil and that the Taoiseach himself has raised concerns about garda numbers and whether we have enough gardaí to police the far-right in this country. In every community across the country, certainly in my county of Wicklow, people would like to see more gardaí on the streets, so this seems like a very strange decision. This is actually the second year this has happened. Previously, gardaí were sent to another tourist spot in France to police hot spots in order that Irish tourists could see gardaí if they had any questions. Apparently, the ambassador to France has organised this exchange. I would be very interested in the Tánaiste's opinions on that.

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