Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I ask the Minister of State to listen carefully and to take note. I await his answer with interest. I hope we see some positive news in it but even if we do not, the crucial thing is that this message is relayed back to the Department, the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for Justice, Deputy Simon Harris. Carrigaline, for those familiar with it, is a large town of some 15,000 people. It has grown rapidly. As recently as 1961, there were fewer than a thousand people in the town. It is a commuter town, the population of which has multiplied in the last decade or two because of its proximity to Cork city and the many positive things about the town. It has a lot of employment, many amenities and a strong sense of community. With that growth, investment in resources has not followed adequately. There have been some improvements. We have seen the development of the Carrigaline Lions Youth Centre and some improvements to the roads and in public transport. In one particular area, at least, resources have not adequately followed. Carrigaline is still dealing with crime prevention and Garda numbers that reflect the time when the town was much smaller. About two years ago, I did an analysis which found that of all the towns with a population of more than 10,000, Carrigaline had the fourth lowest number of gardaí. Of the remaining three towns, two were in close proximity to each other, namely, Celbridge and Leixlip. At present, there are 21 gardaí in Carrigaline, three sergeants and 18 gardaí. That is fewer than in summer 2020 when there were 23. If we break that figure down and take away the three sergeants, the warrants and firearms officer, the community gardaí and detectives, we are down to 12 or 13 gardai who are dedicated on a full-time basis to responding to incidents and patrolling the streets.

Carrigaline has a very young population, with 5,000 people or one in three of the population under the age of 18. It is important that we plan for the future and ensure the town has the resources it needs. Unfortunately, I have been asked to raise this matter by countless people in the community in recent weeks because of a number of very worrying incidents. In late December, there was a very serious assault which sadly led to the death of Mr. Matt O'Neill. I send my condolences to his family. Subsequently, in January, a teenager was stabbed and injured. Unfortunately, we have seen a number of these incidents over the last couple of years. It is shocking and upsetting to people in the town. Carrigaline is a very positive town with a fantastic story to tell and a great community spirit despite its rapid growth. It has a very vibrant scene of clubs and organisations and community infrastructure. However, it is a town that has grown exponentially and it deserves much better. With the Garda numbers available, there are barely enough gardaí to keep the station open and a patrol car out at night and during the day as well. The Garda cannot do what it would love to do which would be to put teams of two gardaí out on the street. We all know from the evidence that visibility of policing is the biggest deterrent to crime. In Carrigaline the resources are not available to put teams of two gardaí out patrolling the streets. There is barely enough to keep the squad car and the office open.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible by law for the management and administration of Garda business, which includes the allocation of Garda resources. The Minister for Justice, Deputy Simon Harris, has no direct role in matters of operational policing. The Government is committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs, with record funding of more that €2.14 billion allocated in the Garda budget in 2023. This includes the provision for the recruitment of up to 1,000 additional Garda members and 400 Garda staff this year and will enable sustained ongoing recruitment of Garda members and staff.

I know the Minister engages regularly with the Garda authorities with a view to ensuring that every possible support is in place to deliver on this level of recruitment. I am advised by the Garda authorities that the number of attestations in 2022 was 369, with 145 in January, 70 in March, 101 in May and 53 in July.

The recruitment campaign last year for an Garda Síochána saw 11,000 people apply to join the service, which is a very positive and welcome response from the public.

I know An Garda Síochána plans to run another recruitment campaign this year to ensure there is a strong pipeline of new recruits going forward. I am informed by the Garda authorities that at the end of December 2022, there were 14,133 members of An Garda Síochána, supported by more than 3,126 whole-time equivalent Garda staff. This represents an increase of just over 10% since 2015 when there were 12,816 Garda members in the country. In addition, recruitment of Garda staff has allowed Garda members to move from administrative to front-line roles.

I understand that Carrigaline Garda station has 21 Garda members assigned as at the end of last year, with three sergeants and 18 gardaí. For example, comparing Garda resource allocation at the end of 2015 with the end of last year, the Togher district, which encompasses Carrigaline Garda station, has witnessed an increase in Garda members of more than 57%. By the end of last year, more than 880 Garda members had been assigned to operational roles under the Garda reassignment initiative and their previous roles assigned to Garda civilian staff. I am advised that An Garda Síochána is currently reviewing what further posts can be civilianised. Continued recruitment of Garda staff this year will further allow for trained Garda members to be freed up for front-line duties, where their training and policing expertise are vital in improving community safety and services to the public generally. Another key element of the Garda reform programme is the new operating model, which continues to be rolled out across all 19 Garda divisions. The new model is designed to streamline Garda administration and provide a more visible, responsive and localised policing service to communities nationwide.

The Minister will continue to engage closely with the Garda Commissioner in relation to the implementation of this ambitious programme of Garda reform and other measures to combat crime in our communities.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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As a small aside, it is a bit peculiar to make reference to districts given that the new operating model is based on the divisional model, as the Minister of State has mentioned. The districts are not really the metric any more. Making a comparison with 2015, which was the lowest point, is something of a distraction. In any event, we are focused on a particular part of the district, which is quite large and takes in much of the south side of Cork city and the outlying area. The population of much of that area has not significantly changed for the past 20 or 30 years. The issue here is that Carrigaline has grown exponentially, and I expect the same can be said of other commuter towns. Its population has exploded, multiplying in the past decade or two, and Garda resources have not kept pace. If there were to be an incident at night in one of the outlying areas, like Crosshaven or Passage, or if gardaí have to provide support in Douglas, there is no squad car in a town of 15,000 people, 5,000 of whom are under the age of 18.

Some of the frustration on the ground is that gardaí do not have the capacity to go beyond just responding to issues. An awful lot of the focus of the community policing model, and even the new operating model, is about being proactive, building connections with community and preventing crime. If the resources are not there to put two gardaí on to the street to patrol a community, then that effort is seriously hampered. We need to get to a point where gardaí are not just firefighting but are proactively preventing crime, and are in a position to put strategies in place.

The gardaí on the ground are absolutely fantastic. There are some really excellent gardaí. People will be familiar with the two community gardaí, Garda Damien Craven and Garda Stephen Cleary. There are many others but they are enormously stretched. The population figure I have given is taken from the most recent available census figures but I expect it could be close to 18,000 by the time the results of the latest census come back.

I have made the point that there are 5,000 young people in the town, which is a huge number at one in three of the population. The youth diversion project in the community does not have a permanent building. That needs to be considered because we need to plan for the long term, which is something for which the Department does have direct responsibility.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I again thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for raising this very important matter. I will certainly convey his concerns to the Minister, Deputy Harris, on whose behalf I also thank the Deputy.

The Deputy will be aware that the Government is rolling out a number of policy and legislative initiatives, which will reduce the level of criminal behaviour in our communities. These include introducing legislation to provide body worn cameras for gardaí and community CCTV schemes; rolling out the community safety innovation fund to drive the development of community safety projects at local level; examining the use of antisocial behaviour orders to ensure they are as effective as possible; introducing legislation to criminalise the grooming of children; and providing An Garda Síochána with new powers to cease and stop illegal use of scrambler bikes.

As recognised by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, improving community safety requires a multi-sectoral approach, strong inter-agency collaboration and engagement from the community. The policy of establishing local community safety partnerships in communities, which is being rolled out by the Minister, will play a key role by creating tailor-made community safety plans with input from the local community and public services. An Garda Síochána will play a vital role in delivering this enhanced approach to community safety in local areas. I know the Minister trusts the Garda Commissioner and his team to continue making operational decisions on the best use of resources provided in the interests of all of our communities. This is more than simply a matter for An Garda Síochána. The Deputy rightly referred to youth diversion projects as well. We have seen a substantial increase in funding for youth diversion projects in the past two budgets - €6.7 million in the first budget and €2.9 million in the second. Coming from a base of about €15 million that is a huge increase, and we will continue with that roll-out.