Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome anything that will help tackle knife crime and other forms of armed crime. I welcome the appointment of more judges. I also welcome that gardaí, prison officers and members of the Defence Forces can stay on for an extra two years to 62 years of age. However, if we cannot keep them until they are 60 anyway, it begs the question of what is wrong. Some 98% of rank-and-file gardaí voted no confidence in the Commissioner. To me, that was also a vote of no confidence in the Minister, given that she took the Commissioner’s side.

I want people to join the Garda, the Defence Forces, the Prison Service and the fire service, but we need to invest in them, in equipment for them and in extra personnel to keep them safe. We have gardaí responding to certain crimes on their own, putting themselves in danger. That is not right. We have more gardaí leaving the service than we have entering. The numbers suggest otherwise, but that is not correct. Many of the people who are leaving after being trained by the Garda have emigrated to other countries because they cannot put up with the type of system the Garda offers them.

I welcome anything that will help these services, but there has been a failure by this and previous Governments to invest in the Garda. I attended a show recently where we spoke to people in the fire service. They do not have gloves to remove the main batteries from electric cars that go on fire even though they were promised them. As we run away from fires, members of the fire service run in, but they have not been given proper equipment to do that. The same obtains in respect of the Garda. The population is increasing, as are crime levels, yet the supports for the people we want to protect us are depleting.

The Government has made a start with this Bill, but it does not go far enough. I want to see more investment in the Garda and more people being brought into the various services so that they are around to protect us in future.

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