Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I was asked a straight question yesterday and I gave a straight answer. Before I was appointed as Minister for Justice I was asked whether parts of Dublin are unsafe at certain times and I said that they are. I am not going not change my answer simply because it is convenient to do so. I emphasise, however, that I would have thought that if people in this House were asked whether Stoneybatter was a safe place on a Sunday afternoon, they all would have said that it was a safe place. Obviously, circumstances can arise that make it unsafe. I am committed to ensuring that Dublin is safe. The best way to do so is to ensure that we have more Garda visibility. The Deputy and I both support that. I assure him that in my engagements with the Garda Commissioner, the primary point I keep making is that we want to see more gardaí on the streets.

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