Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Does the Deputy want to sit in the Chair? I am trying to answer Deputy Murphy if that is okay. It is a serious issue and a serious point. Deputy Shortall should know that as a former junior Minister at the Department of Health.

I say to Deputy Murphy that it is not just a commentary. We need to do more in that space. That is why we are recruiting more gardaí. We have to ensure we have health professionals on the front line too, in particular on the education side through our schools. What I was trying to say before I was interrupted was in relation to community policing. That has to be the core of what we are doing. We are seeing community policing units being set up again and re-established right the way across the country so we can have proactive as well as reactive policing, where we are supporting our existing communities.

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