Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I was in my constituency office in Naas that Thursday evening, and I could hear the sirens going off on the main street as gardaí headed towards Dublin. It is for this reason that I really want to talk to the Minister of State about what it is like for families of gardaí who were left unprotected that night at the riot. I know what it is like to be a member of a Garda family, and I have spoken previously about what it is like. My particular childhood memory was the night of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, and being worried because my dad was not home for tea that evening. He still was not home by the time we were all sent to bed that night.

My heart went out to families of gardaí who were watching those scenes on that night in November, and I am sure, with young children having phones, their mothers and fathers at home might have been trying to make sure they were not able to see those scenes. While they were out protecting us, there was nobody protecting them. Not the Minister, and not the Garda Commissioner. I have been contacted by retired gardaí who knew my dad and they still have family working in the service. The rank and file feels terribly undervalued. The numbers are not there. We need more gardaí.

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