Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I appreciate the Minister's commitment to this issue. The programme for Government sets out an ambitious target in relation to the recruitment of gardaí. I know the Minister is committed to increasing the visibility of gardaí on our streets. One can see in Dublin that there has been an improvement in that respect but we need to see it across the country. The Minister visited Cork recently, which I welcomed. He took on board what he was told in Cork regarding the number of gardaí. It is important that we get a fair share of the allocation of gardaí when there are new graduates from Templemore. Unfortunately, only last weekend, there was a serious incident in Cork city where a woman was violently assaulted in broad daylight in the city centre. That highlights the need for strong visibility of gardaí on the streets. I ask the Minister to ensure he keeps as much pressure on as possible to get a high number of gardaí into Templemore so we can get them out on our streets.

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