Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party) | Oireachtas source

Today, I am not armed with some briefing note drafted by civil servants far removed from the realities of rural Ireland, but with the voice of the people I represent. People in places like Goleen, Adrigole and Drimoleague who have not seen a community garda in years. We are told the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act was the most significant reform in two decades but to be honest, I have seen what reform meant the last time and I am not buying the spin. Reform meant shutting 139 Garda stations between 2012 and 2013. Reform meant leaving five upgraded taxpayer-funded properties to be flogged off for peanuts. That was not reform. That was rural abandonment. That was the beginning of fear taking root in communities, once proud of their safety and solidarity.

It is worth noting that the briefing note circulated by the Minister for Justice states that he said on 4 March that he would ensure the Vote could be approved by the House in time for the legislation to be commenced this month. Well, he missed that deadline, and on April Fool's Day, too. I am left to wonder whether the Government prioritised looking after Mr. Lowry and company over pressing ahead with urgent business.

The new authority, the PCSA, and the new ombudsman's office are getting tens of millions in funding. That is fine if they deliver results but where is the guarantee that community gardaí will be put back in the areas that lost them? Where is the commitment to opening even one rural Garda station? I do not see it. What I see is more management, more renaming, more lawyers but not more boots on the ground. Let me remind the House that when you close a Garda station, you do not just shut a door. You shut down a sense of security. Older people in west Cork, people living alone miles from the nearest town, are left wondering who will respond when trouble comes. Now, they rely on a passing patrol or a text alert system we had to fight tooth and nail to establish.

I have been secretary of the local community alert group for years. I know the Schull community alert. I know the commitment involved. I know the cold nights spent out checking roads, helping neighbours, attending meetings and keeping an eye out, but these groups are struggling. They have been left without Garda support, without proper engagement and without a signal from Government that their work matters. Let us not forget the mess we are in today, scrambling to approve these Votes because the justice committee is not even up and running. We are being asked to rubber stamp millions of euro with no debate and no scrutiny. That is not how a republic should run its business.

I am not here to block progress. I am here to fight for fair, balanced reform that sees a garda walk down the street in Ballydehob safely, not just another press release in Dublin. It is reform that restores community trust, not just reshuffles it. If the Act is to mean anything, it must start where it was most broken, namely, in rural Ireland, not in new authorities but in old values, present partnerships and protection.

We fought bitterly against the closure of the Goleen, Adrigole and Ballinspittle Garda stations. We won the Ballinspittle battle, actually, and the battle for the Ballinacarriga Garda station, actually. Unfortunately, we lost three of those Garda stations in west Cork at that time and many more besides outside of the constituency. From talking to people, meeting people or attending the community alert meetings, I know that left them very vulnerable. It was a huge loss to those local communities.

Some of those Garda stations are still lying idle. They should be given back and a garda should be appointed to each community. I have always advocated for the local garda appointed to the local area. I see that down in Kilbrittain with John McCarthy, who lives locally, and in Ballydehob with Jonathan McCarthy. McCarthy is a good name when it comes to the Garda. They are there and can nick matters in time, before they get out of hand. They are a credit to their community. The problem, however, is that they are out there nights on their own, summer and winter, because of the lack of gardaí in west Cork. The numbers of gardaí are falling. They are not being replaced. Drimoleague Garda station comes up quite often with me. People ask why there is no garda appointed to the station. The Garda station is there but a garda is not. We need to look at community alerts. That is where policing was always at its best, when the local community knew of every mood that was going on. The garda would make it into the local village once every two or three weeks and got things sorted out locally. That saved lives and made people happy at home. This has to be looked into further.

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