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

I thank the Deputy. I agree with her there are more gardaí on the streets of Dublin city centre and it has had a very positive impact. It is not the intention and I hope it is not the effect that gardaí are taken from different areas. I do not think that is the case. The Commissioner has made a decision that a significant number of new recruits coming out will be put in Dublin in the first instance, but others are being transferred to other parts of the country as well. Obviously, all this is dependent on recruiting more people into An Garda Síochána. We had a good recruitment campaign where 6,700 people expressed interest in joining the force. We need to translate that into membership of the force, as the biggest problem gardaí have is their popularity and their success. People want to see them everywhere.

On the community safety partnerships, I will be signing those regulations shortly and I hope that will enable the partnerships to get up and running.

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