Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Kerrane for raising this important issue and for the constructive way in which she has done that. I know of the strength of feeling in the community of Ballaghaderreen which she is bringing to the floor of the Dáil here. I want to assure the Deputy that we take the safety of people living and working in rural Ireland very seriously. Preventing crime does not just mean putting gardaí on the beat although that is important. It also means supporting the work of the National Rural Safety Forum. A lot has been achieved during the lifetime of that plan but it requires that multiagency and multisectoral whole-of-government response also. I will convey to the Garda Commissioner and to the Minister for Justice her views on the policing needs of Ballaghaderreen and I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy directly.

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