Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Does the Minister have a problem answering the question? Let us try again. I asked three questions. As Minister for Justice she stated that Dublin city was safe. She was surrounded by gardaí as she did her walkabout through the city centre. The current Minister for Justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, has told us that parts of Dublin city are not safe. He has not told us where and he has not told us what he is going to do about it. As the former Minister for Justice, I am asking the Minister, Deputy McEntee, if she agrees with him. That is the first question. Please answer it. The second question concerns the Minister for Justice now telling us we need more laws on knife crime. Does the Minister, Deputy McEntee, agree with that? Why did she not do anything about this when she was the Minister for Justice? When did the penny drop on this issue that we have a serious problem with knife crime in this city and elsewhere? On the third question, does the Minister accept that we simply do not have enough gardaí and that over her tenure as the Minister for Justice she did not reach the targets that were set year after year? These are three simple questions. Let us do it for the second time. Does the Minister agree with the Minister for Justice that parts of Dublin are not safe? Does she agree that we need new legislation on knife crime and why did she not do anything about it during her term in government? Is it not the root of the problem that we do not have enough gardaí on the streets?

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