Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this Topical Issue matter this evening. This is my second time in about a month to secure a debate with regard to Garda numbers in Roscommon and Galway. The falling number of gardaí is an issue I have raised consistently in this House, especially since January when we have had a spate of burglaries. They have been happening more or less all year long and are still sadly happening. I raised these issues with the Minister for Justice, the chief superintendent in my Garda division and the Garda Commissioner. Unfortunately, the Garda Commissioner does not respond, and the Minister said that Garda allocations are a matter for the Garda Commissioner, which I understand.

In the last month alone, I have attended a protest in Castlerea in County Roscommon by the newly formed Enough is Enough campaign group, which I commend. I then attended a public meeting held by the same group in Glinsk in County Galway on the same issue. On Sunday evening last, I attended a vigil in my home town of Ballaghaderreen. That vigil was about sending a message to the Government and the Garda Commission that we need more gardaí and we need to see them out on the beat.

When it comes to Garda numbers, figures can be deceiving. For example, in July last, I received a reply from the Minister advising me that there were eight gardaí in Ballaghaderreen Garda station. This week, I was advised there are four gardaí and one sergeant, a cut of almost half in less than four months. If there were five gardaí in Ballaghaderreen who were based in the town and out and about and visible, I would not be using the town as an example here this evening. In fact, if there were five gardaí in Ballaghaderreen, people would be happy enough if they were out and about and visible in the town but, unfortunately, they are not. As I always say when I raise issues concerning the Garda, this is not the fault of gardaí, who are under incredible pressure and stretched. This is not their fault. It is important to say that.

I have put it to the Garda Commissioner and the chief superintendent that we need a specific Garda plan for rural areas. The Government should support that proposal. Irrespective of who is in government in the new year, when the next Garda Commissioner is appointed he or she should come into office without a commitment that there will be a specific plan made for rural areas.

As the Minister of State will be aware, living in a rural area can mean living in a village or town where the Garda station has been closed. It can certainly mean living in a town where Garda numbers are down, as they are in all parts of my constituency of Roscommon and Galway. In County Roscommon alone, pre-Covid we had 171 gardaí, while today we have 146. The numbers are down. To live in a rural area can mean living in an isolated place or a village where you do not have immediate access to gardaí. The way of life is very different from that in our cities. That is why we need a specific Garda plan to focus on Garda allocations in our rural towns and villages.

I understand that approximately 167 gardaí are due to pass out of Templemore College in December. We need to see a number of those gardaí coming west. People are afraid. It is a great shame, in this day and age, that anyone would be afraid in their own home. I am thinking in particular of older people who live on their own. The fear they feel going to bed at night is one they should never have but the reality on the ground is that we simply do not have enough gardaí. I ask for the support of the Government and the Minister of State's party for a specific Garda plan for our rural areas.

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