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

As the Deputy said, I was down in Cork before the summer and saw the great work that is done by members of An Garda Síochána in the Cork area. I am aware of the issue in respect of units. I hope the Deputy will forgive me if I do not throw myself into the middle of it. It is an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner. The last thing I want to do, as Minister for Justice, is to start issuing operational diktats to a Commissioner. He is the expert on how to run An Garda Síochána. I set the policy but it is up to him and senior management to dictate what happens in respect of whether units are available to each area or not.

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