Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I recently asked the Minister, Deputy McEntee, if she had confidence in the Garda Commissioner and she told me she did and so did the Government. I will tell the House who has no confidence in him: the rank-and-file gardaí in my constituency of Clare, and my civilian constituents' lack of confidence in him continues to grow every day.

I will focus on the new Garda operational model, which has seen a superintendent taken out of Kilrush, which I have called a disgraceful decision in this House many times, a statement I reiterate today. The overly central allocation of Garda resources resulted in two gardaí covering Kilkee during the busiest day of the year, the August bank holiday Saturday. Gangs of strangers came into the town, committed violent assaults and caused criminal damage to property without fear of being arrested because there was not a garda available to do so. This is a disgraceful and shameful failure of the Garda operational model that we are seeing first-hand in County Clare.

This model is failing my constituents, and when I raise Garda deficits with the Minister, my questions are disallowed because the allocation of Garda resources is an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner. What I would like to know is how the allocation of resources can be a matter for the Commissioner, yet the Minister can step in and inject €10 million into one specific region, Dublin, and leave the rest of Ireland wanting. People outside of Dublin are entitled to stronger, safer communities too.

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