Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

I think there is a disconnect between the Taoiseach's rhetoric and the reality on the ground. For people listening to this debate, it is like he is talking about an alternative universe in many ways. I heard him talk about another task force. There is nearly a Father Ted element to that - is there anything to be said for another task force on this? There is something to be said about actually employing more gardaí. This is the major problem and unless it is fixed, the problem will increase. Garda numbers have been at their lowest per capita in the last five years. We have one of the lowest memberships of a police force per capita in the whole of the European Union. Gardaí are retiring and resigning more than they are being recruited at the moment and in some months, resignations even make up the majority of gardaí who are leaving the force.

The Taoiseach mentioned the horrific deaths on the roads. I have brought up the fact that five years ago, well over 1,000 gardaí were policing the roads and now it is fewer than 600. If we do not have the gardaí to enforce the laws, behaviours will change, there will be more accidents and more people will lose their lives. The collapse in the number of gardaí has had a massive effect in making our streets and our town squares less safe over the last while. There is no doubt in my mind that unless we deal with the sentencing and prison spaces, more people will get off scot-free with lenient sentences for violent sexual assaults in future and that must change.

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