Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I wish to raise the issue of Garda numbers in Cork city. I know it is a concern shared by the Taoiseach. There are 668 gardaí serving in Cork city. This is 9% down on the position three years ago. Despite the fact that many public representatives have raised the issue, including in the Dáil, the situation has got worse. After the recent attestation from Templemore, we received three gardaí. This follows on from an attestation in March when we also received three gardaí. On this occasion, Dublin received 70. Dublin's population is not 20 times that of Cork, so there is a disconnect there, a disproportionate allocation and an inequality in that. I ask the Taoiseach to take this matter up. I know he shares my concerns about this and we have both spoken to the Minister for justice about it but, unfortunately, the Garda Commissioner does not appear to be listening, so we have to do more to get a fair allocation.

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