Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Last Thursday was a dark day for our capital city and our country. It was not an isolated event but the culmination of events as this State lost complete control of Dublin city for over two hours. For whatever reason, we were completely exposed and unprepared for the violent onslaught that escalated into mob rule, as gardaí, bus drivers and others were attacked, shops were looted, and trams, buses and Garda cars were torched. Ordinary workers and anybody who was unfortunate enough to find themselves in the city centre felt completely unsafe. For far too long, right-wing agitators have acted with a level of impunity. They are being emboldened, and that exploded on Thursday night in Dublin city.

At a national level, both urban and rural, our Garda Commissioner has largely abandoned community policing, real engagement with communities and time spent interacting with communities in a meaningful and structured way. What we have is a veneer of community policing and I believe that policy is coming from the top and needs to change.

Back in 2016, Ireland had the lowest per capitapolice force in Europe, at 278 gardaí for every 100,000 people. There has been little improvement since. The Government tells us that more gardaí are being recruited but the figures do not lie. We have to go back to 2009 to find the highest number of gardaí, at 14,434. We have to go back to 2008 to find the second highest number and to 2010 to find the third highest number. We still have not caught up with the 2009 Garda numbers and have nearly 1 million more people in this country. For the five years since 2018, the number leaving the Garda force has increased by almost 40% - 39.1%, to be precise. Morale is at an all-time low. While the recruitment and retention crisis in the Garda is multifaceted, it is the Minister's responsibility to remove every barrier in the way. It is not just Dublin that needs extra police. Serious change is needed to put community policing back at the heart of policy throughout the country.

As I said to the Taoiseach earlier, there were totally insufficient numbers of gardaí available in Dromahair on Friday night.

I was not there but it was reported to me that illegal checkpoints were set up. This is unacceptable and the Garda must investigate. I was told by Dromahair concerned residents organisations that they contacted the Garda and it took nearly 90 minutes for the two gardaí who were covering the north of the county to arrive because of insufficient resources. That is unacceptable.

I am not calling for the Minister’s resignation but we need to show resolve and cohesion in the face of the right-wing threat.

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