Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I know the Deputy is absolutely completely committed to policing in his own community and to the wider county. As the Deputy will know, changes are taking place and a new operational model is being rolled out right across the country. The sole objective of that operating model is to ensure that we have better and more focused policing, with more members on the ground and that we have a stronger community policing presence. That is what every one of us in this Chamber and what our communities want, which is to have that Garda member on the ground, that person one can pick up the phone to. This reorganisation and these new divisional models are the focus and priority here. Of course, we all want more Garda members and numbers and that is why every effort is being made to ensure that we have the highest number of recruits coming out of our college which is possible.

Obviously, the Deputy’s specific question is around these areas and I will relay that concern back to the Commissioner.

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