Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am thankful to have the opportunity to speak on this motion. On a personal basis, I get on well with the Minister. I think, though, that the Garda Commissioner has lost the dressing room completely. Our thoughts must be with the people who were stabbed and hurt before the riots. We wish them well.

I hear all this talk about the far right in this country. Yes, there are extreme people in this country. To put it simply, though, basically, it was yobbos and thugs who went setting the Garda cars, the Luas trams and the buses on fire. These are people who probably never worked a day in their lives. What worries me is that I remember when the Troubles were in the North and there were about 3,500 gardaí here then. We had about 4,000 fewer gardaí then. Now, we have 5,300 civilians as well. Neither in the countryside nor in the city do we have enough cover, whatever has gone wrong. Someone needs to explain this situation.

Regarding young gardaí, I hear one thing said day in and day out. I think every one of us here hears it. It is that they are leaving the force. We have all seen this. I have seen this happening the same as anyone else. The funny thing about this development, though, and the real kick in the teeth, is that some of these young people would be driving 120 miles or 130 miles daily because they cannot afford rental accommodation that costs from €1,500 to €2,000 per month in Dublin. The people who were out rioting the other night will probably get a house after seven or eight years and will get the dole every week, while the people who are trying to mind the State cannot afford accommodation in our capital city. We must look at what is going on in this country. We have got too politically correct and we are afraid to say a lot of stuff.

There is a major problem in rural Ireland as well. Garda stations were closed, and every night now we see on social media where community alert groups are constantly putting out messages about where there have been break-ins. I believe the Commissioner has lost the dressing room. The day the Minister walked up that street, some two or three months ago now, with a few gardaí by her side, and said Dublin was safe, was the day I closed the book on it and lost faith.

See this speech in context