Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to remember the late rural crime activist and Roscommon independent councillor, Tony Waldron of Ballintubber, as I make these comments. The safety and security of our rural communities must be a top priority. Across Roscommon-Galway, we are seeing a rise in serious criminal activity. There must be a response that matches the scale of the challenge. People in villages like Oran, Glinsk, Ballygar and Knockcroghery are living in fear of mobile crime groups. They deserve to feel safe in their homes and to be able to conduct their businesses. There have been raids by the Garda armed response unit, discharging of firearms and increased antisocial behaviour linked to organised crime in Ballinasloe in the past month alone.

Crime is evolving and so must our approach to tackling it. We need to strengthen our response in two key areas: enforcement and prevention. Criminals are more organised, exploiting gaps in policing and the lack of deterrence in rural areas. We must ensure An Garda Síochána has the resources to monitor key access routes, disrupt networks and prevent crime before it happens. Increased patrols on the roads over the Shannon into Roscommon-Galway would send a clear signal that law enforcement is proactive, supplemented by an intelligence-led approach. Equally, we must recognise the complex factors that contribute to crime. Community deprivation, lack of balanced development and lack of educational opportunities deepen the challenges faced by law enforcement.

Garda station closures remain a serious concern. Ballaghaderreen Garda station - in a town of 3,000 people with rapid population growth due to international protection applicants and vulnerable to mobile crime gangs - has closed. They have shouldered their responsibility; the State must shoulder its share. Their Garda station is more than just a building; it is a deterrent to crime and a reassurance to the community. It must be reopened.

Another trend is the increase in arson. These attacks are deliberate, targeted and designed to create fear. They threaten the stability of rural communities and even the will of the State. A strong forensic-led investigation strategy is required. Government has committed to recruiting 5,000 new gardaí in its term. Recognition must be given to rural communities left to manage with overstretched Garda units covering wide geographical areas. The people of Roscommon-Galway deserve an effective security strategy. Security should not be determined by geography.

Peter Roche (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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In his absence, I wish the Minister for Justice well in his role. The issue I wished to raise with the Minister concerns gardaí seeking transfers, particularly the case of a young garda based in Dublin city from my neck of the woods, Abbeyknockmoy, just outside Tuam, She is a married woman with a mortgage on a new property she and her husband built in the last few years. They are blessed with a young child of a couple of months and the plan is for her to return to work. She has been pleading since 2021 for a transfer from Dublin back home to the west or as near it as possible. Within an hour's commute of her home with be great. The round trip from her home currently is 370 km per day. That is a big challenge. Having to find accommodation in Dublin while paying a mortgage in east Galway is not the most desirable situation.

We must not lose the experience we have in the force. Retention is an issue and we need to focus on retaining the experience of dedicated members and to look sympathetically on cases such as that young garda. She loves her job and the testimonials from her colleagues in Dublin about her experience and value to the force are very positive. I wish the system would look more favourably on her situation and afford her an opportunity to build her future in the Garda, commuting daily while still being able to care for her personal and professional business at home in east Galway.

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I have had the privilege of working with some of the finest gardaí in my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny in recent years as mayor of Kilkenny and chairman of Kilkenny County Council. My priority is that everyone has the right to feel safe and be safe in their community and home. Across the country, communities are dealing with the scourge of crime and antisocial behaviour. We need to build stronger, safer communities by strengthening An Garda Síochána, expanding resources and modernising support to tackle crime.

At present, there are 14,100 members of An Garda Síochána. It is simply not enough for a country of our size. There are only 312 in my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny, which is a 10% decrease in the past four years. This decrease has to stop. The programme for Government commits to providing funding for at least 5,000 Garda recruits in the next five years. These are badly needed in towns like Graiguenamanagh, Callan, Thomastown, Mullinavat, Mooncoin and Castlecomer. Lack of Garda resources is a huge issue.

The primary focus has to be to allow Garda to become more visible in our communities. They have to be visible on the beat and that is not felt in rural Ireland at the moment, including the constituency I represent. According to an Irish Examiner-Ipsos poll published recently, 70% of people living in rural Ireland do not believe there is a visible Garda presence in their area. Members of the public believe - and they are right - that improved visibility can deter crime.

We have all these recruits coming out and I urge the Minister to make sure these recruits do not just stay in Dublin city. It is important that the city be looked after, but not by forgetting rural towns and villages around the country. We need to continue supporting our community alert and text alert schemes throughout the country and make necessary funding available. I have first-hand experience, having been chairman of my own text alert scheme, but the likes of Rosbercon, Glenmore, Goresbridge, Paulstown, Ballinkillen, Borris and St. Mullins, which the Ceann Comhairle is familiar with, worked at these text alert groups, and it was fantastic. They need to be supported.

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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The lack of Garda presence and visibility in our communities is having a serious impact. Many people in my constituency are living in fear, particularly elderly and vulnerable people and those in rural communities. People are having to take drastic measures to increase security in their homes. We know that burglaries are on the rise. There were 386 burglaries reported in Galway in 2023, an increase of 8%. The most recent figures published this week show levels of burglaries continuing to rise across the west and across the State. Antisocial behaviour is also a serious issue, and the lack of Garda visibility in our communities is contributing to this. We do not see gardaí on the beat and they do not have a sufficient presence. Yet, in the Galway Garda division the number of gardaí actually decreased last year by 2% from 618 to 604. This does not include the number of gardaí not available for work due to career breaks, maternity leave and so on. A huge number of Garda stations have been closed, particularly rural stations, leaving no permanent presence in these areas. In my home town of Athenry, which has a population of 5,000 people, the Garda station is rarely open. It opens from time to time. There is no certainty as to when it will be open. People locally tell me that if you call the station, you are often transferred over to Clifden Garda station on the western edge of County Galway, about two hours' drive away. That is not good enough for a town of Athenry's size. This lack of gardaí and Garda visibility has serious consequences. It impacts on people's sense of safety, on deterrence and on crime prevention. There needs to be a particular focus on policing in rural communities and a rural Garda plan is needed to address those gaps where we have stations that have closed, or in areas where Garda numbers are down. We have a rising population, and we desperately need more gardaí in our communities. The intake capacity for Garda training must be increased to get to where we need to be in terms of numbers. We must also tackle the root causes of crime such as inequality, addiction, mental health issues and so on if we are to fully address these problems.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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I am delighted to speak on statements on policing and community safety, but if we are to be serious about this the outcome has to be that people actually feel safe in their own local communities. Unfortunately, a lot of them do not. In 2007 John Fitzgerald produced a report that led to the Limerick regeneration programme. In that report he stated that we needed a minimum of 100 extra gardaí for the four regeneration areas. That never materialised and we have had problems since then. I put on record that the gardaí in Limerick do a really good job. I deal with them on a continuous basis, but they cannot respond, they cannot do their work and they cannot deliver for the communities if they do not actually exist. Numbers decreased between 2023 and 2024, not significantly, but they should be going the other way. We did a survey recently and 547 people responded. Most of those were from regeneration areas but not exclusively and 57% of those people said they did not feel safe in their own communities. We need a focus on Limerick, and we need additional gardaí on the streets.

On other issues, I have raised previously in the Dáil particular problems in particular areas. The previous Minister for Justice organised for a Garda response in a particular part of Limerick with really good results, but there were only good results because we put extra resources in. We authorised overtime and we got additional staff and Operation Copóg was successful, but it has run out and the area is back to where it was before. I raised the issue of horses in urban areas in a Topical Issue question last week. The numbers of seizures are down dramatically and that is because there are no gardaí available to go out when the local authority is seizing horses. They need to have Garda protection when they are doing that because it is not safe. Unfortunately, and I hate to say this in the Dáil, but I have said on a number of occasions that crack cocaine is prevalent in Limerick city. It started off in Limerick city. It is available in Limerick city. It is cheaper to buy in Limerick city than anywhere else. People come from all over the country to buy their crack cocaine in Limerick city because it is cheaper. We obviously need to look at addressing not just the crime aspects of that but the health aspects, and funding groups that are supporting people in addiction. Other issues include the courts in Limerick. We have a brand new Courts Service facility with six courtrooms, but they are never fully operational. People are waiting for long times. As was raised earlier, the issue around bail needs to be looked at. People are entitled to bail - I have no problem with that - but continuously reoffending while on bail should be addressed.

Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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The prevention of crime and antisocial behaviour requires a wide range of social, economic and community actions including education, employment, training, income, social inclusion, community facilities and community policing. I will say a few words on community policing. Over the past few years, community policing has effectively been dismantled, particularly since the introduction of the new Garda districts. I recall a briefing by Commissioner Harris, and it was immediately clear to me that community policing was going to take a huge hit and was not a priority any more. I was of course assured otherwise, but the figures do not lie. Nationally, in 2010 we had 1,182 community gardaí. In 2024 there are 700, a reduction of almost 50%. In County Tipperary it is even worse. In 2010 we had 108. In 2023 we had eight. Community policing is invaluable in building up relationships with communities. Local communities know their local garda. They will have his or her contact details, and they build up trust with the communities and individuals within them. Crucially, their relationship and trust and friendship with young people is built up through community policing. The community gardaí have in the past become involved in all sorts of local community activities such as youth clubs, sports clubs and residents' associations. In other words, they are seen and are active in their areas, and are available in their areas. As a result, crime and antisocial behaviour are reduced, and importantly, young people who might tend to stray are identified at an early age and supported. Unfortunately, all of those areas have been lost and the few community gardaí left work above and beyond the call of duty and are stretched and stressed to the limit. There needs to be a new priority given to community policing, with gardaí working from the ground up. This obviously requires additional recruitment specifically for gardaí. Visibility of gardaí on the beat is also vitally important. Too many of our towns and city centres are given over to actions of antisocial behaviour, drug use and drug dealing. Many of these people are known locally to the gardaí, but little or nothing appears to be done, so gardaí on the beat are vital for the safety of the public.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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We are in the midst of a manufactured moral panic. To divert attention from away from its failures on housing, health, disability and climate, the Government prefers to have endless statements on policing and to pass more laws that erode our civil liberties. The programme for Government contains a frightening litany of attacks on civil liberties, all under the guise of getting tough on crime. Of course, it is never white-collar crime that they mean, not when they negotiated the programme for Government with Ireland's best known white-collar criminal.

I will address one of the worst attacks on civil liberties in the programme for Government, which is the promise to enable the Garda to use AI and facial recognition technology. The Government is committed to legislate to provide for retrospective searching of images, using facial recognition technology before the end of this Dáil term. It goes even further, by promising to introduce live facial recognition technology supposedly only in cases of terrorism, national security - whatever that means - and missing persons. It also pledges to increase funding for CCTV and to ban the wearing of masks at protests.

This is dystopian surveillance state stuff. It is also a direct attack on the right of disabled people to protest. Many disabled people need to wear masks for medical reasons and would not be able to take part in protests if banned from wearing them. I have no doubt that this would suit this Government very well. The previous Government faced effective protests of overwhelmingly masked disabled people against the so-called Green Paper. The Government knows its record on disability is disgraceful and it is under great pressure from the disability rights movement.

I have spoken before about how facial recognition technology is universally opposed by human rights groups. According to the American Civil Liberties Union:

Face recognition massively expands the government’s power to track our movements and target people based on their race, religion, political affiliation, or speech - and while everyone’s rights are at stake, Black and Brown people are harmed the most when this racist technology collides with our racist systems.

There is very significant racial bias within FRT. Error rates are 60 times higher for west African women than they are for white men. AI reflects, regurgitates and accelerates the racial biases that exist in our society, which come from the top. Together with FRT, this will be used to accelerate racist profiling. The claim by the Garda that it is 99% accurate is terrifying. If the Garda really believes that, we are entering dangerous territory. Instead of going in this direction, we should be joining those many parts of the world that have banned the use of facial recognition technology. We should also ban the use of AI in policing.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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I will first register that we are again here, months after the general election, to make statements. We need to move on. The Government is complaining about a lack of Dáil business. We are making statements into a void and nothing will actually happen afterwards.

I live in a working class community where crime is an issue and I represent many communities where it is an issue. People certainly have the right to ring the Garda and get a response but we need a police force that is accountable and answerable to the community. This day last week, we had a debate on one of the biggest aspects of crime there is, violence against women, and there was very little interest from the Government benches. There are three Government Members here today. There was one here last week. Some 52% of women experience sexual violence. That is a very significant number of people in our community.

I also represent a very diverse electorate and, in many meetings I have had with people from migrant and minority backgrounds, the fear in which they live has been very noticeable. Contrary to what some in this Dáil might say, the people who are most at risk from crime are people from migrant backgrounds. I had a meeting with Pakistani taxi drivers in my community. They have lived and worked in Ireland for over 20 years. They registered the fear they are feeling because there is now so much racism in society that, if anyone says anything to them and they respond, the whole situation will escalate. This applies to health workers as well. Hate crime increased by 12% in 2023. Some 60% of people from migrant backgrounds report that they have experienced hate or harassment. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has said that one in four non-white people had experienced racism in the last 12 months while 31% had witnessed it happening to people they were with. More gardaí on the beat is not the answer because people from minority backgrounds have a real fear of how they are going to be treated by gardaí. The ICCL reports that 83% fear racial profiling or discrimination in their interactions with gardaí. In my own constituency, George Nkencho was the first black person to be shot and killed by gardaí. That is a real fear for a great many young black people in this society. That would not have happened and he would be alive today if he was white. There is absolutely no question that racial bias played a role in that and in the subsequent cover-up.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I welcome this opportunity although I share the frustration of the previous speakers that we are again having statements on this issue. We have had statements over and over and no progress has been made. On the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, I spent a short while on the justice committee and I had serious concerns about the Act. I put them aside because we were absolutely assured that community would form the major part of it and that we would have gardaí on the ground. That has not happened. It has not even been implemented, although we have been given a reason or two for that. It is worrying. I come from Galway and I believe there should be more gardaí in the city, although I acknowledge Deputy Coppinger's concerns about the interaction between gardaí on the ground and people from certain backgrounds. In theory, we all want to see more gardaí on the ground. I say that as someone whose introduction to the Garda was reading the O'Higgins report on Sergeant McCabe. That certainly opened my eyes to what was happening at a very high level in An Garda Síochána, which then filtered down. It is the same thing with the Morris tribunal, the Smithwick tribunal and others, the reports of which I read in my first few years in the Dáil. Notwithstanding that, it is a testament to the people of Ireland and the good gardaí on the ground that we actually want more of them. We feel safer having them but we have never got them.

Under the guise of community safety, we are talking about facial recognition. I absolutely tremble at the thought of this being pushed to make communities safer. In my experience in the Dáil, the ushers on the ground are absolutely fantastic in providing security by watching exactly what is happening in the Dáil. It is similar with gardaí on the ground who are part of the community. I do not like the word "embedded". A liaison or community garda whom you can call makes us all feel much safer. The Ceann Comhairle will know well that is being dismantled and is not to be seen on the ground despite all the wonderful words and that Act, which has not been implemented. All of the time, the push is towards technology to make us safer. It will not make us safer but it will certainly go a long way towards undermining social cohesion. We are going back to the Garda having enormous power, as it had in the past, and this power being unchecked, unsupervised and unmonitored. I say that with the greatest of respect for gardaí on the ground. I am asking for more gardaí on the ground. I believe they make us safer. However, I tremble at this technology and facial recognition. I note the concerns of human rights organisations that repeatedly go to great trouble to educate us in a very practical way. Here we are making more statements. I will go to Galway and watch out to see gardaí walking around or on bikes. I am thrilled when I do. That is one practical way to make words mean something.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on this. I am sharing time and will use three minutes, if that is okay. I have long represented the issue of suspended gardaí here in this Chamber. At the moment, a total of 112 gardaí are suspended. Some are suspended for very good reason and some may have done things that merit being kicked out of the force. However, many of them are suspended unnecessarily for very simple things like squaring road traffic fines. Imagine if some of those could be brought back into the force to fulfil the front-line service of An Garda Síochána. The number suspended at the moment equates to approximately half of the total Garda force in my own Garda division in County Clare. That helps to quantify the issue. Many of them are at home and being paid to fulfil this role. It is unheard of.

As Deputy Coppinger leaves the Chamber, I will make the point that she misrepresented how this part of our work functions. This is a statements session. She said that only three Government Members bothered to show up. She is now leaving when I am speaking. She should not misrepresent how statements work for the sake of a social media clip. Off she goes into the sunshine.

The new policing structures overly concentrate activities on Dublin to the detriment of counties like Clare. I will not name the date but there was one evening in the past month when there was only one garda covering the entirety of west Clare up to the Galway border. To look at the fleet of vehicles, when An Garda Síochána Headquarters in the Phoenix Park buys new vehicles, they are nearly always concentrated in the city divisions. In a rural county like mine, some Garda fleet vehicles are ten or 12 years old. I have put down parliamentary questions to ascertain their service records and some of those vehicles have been off the road for six or seven weeks of the previous year because of malfunctions and not being up to date.

I will mention the programme for Government because it proposes to reintroduce electronic tagging. This was a suggestion I made in my own party. It is a no-brainer. The legislation for that passed in 2009. If our prison system cannot accommodate prisoners, at the very least, they should be shackled to an electronic tagging system at home so An Garda Síochána can know where they are. I have a few seconds left.

The Garda eyesight check needs to be changed. While the fitness test standard for An Garda Síochána was lowered in the past 12 months to allow a greater age cohort to get in, the eye examination standard has increased, which is not fair.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I note media reports yesterday that stated two thirds of the most recent recruit class from Templemore will be deployed to the streets of Dublin city. Like all Members of the House, I warmly welcome the deployment of additional gardaí to our capital's streets and communities. I sincerely thank those recruits for signing up, but if it is true that 98 out of 150 new Garda recruits are heading en masse to the city centre, I must admit it adds to my concern and that of the people I represent that Dublin's suburbs are losing out to the city centre when it comes to Garda numbers. Suburban communities, such as those in Dublin West, also face challenges when it comes to law and order. We have ongoing incidents of serious gangland crime along with persistent lower levels of crime and antisocial behaviour that, very worryingly, are becoming normalised. This includes open drug dealing, theft from cars every night of the week in estates, and growing incidents involving knives. All of that coincides with less visibility of gardaí on our streets.

My concerns are amplified by the fact that there seems to be significant inconsistencies in the deployment of gardaí across districts in the Dublin metropolitan region outside the city centre. These figures are based on Garda numbers provided in replies to parliamentary question and CSO population figures. They are conservative. In the K district, there is one garda per 510 people. In the neighbouring district, it is one garda for every 418 people; that district has 40% lower crime statistics. There is no valid reason for some Dublin Garda districts to have substantially fewer gardaí per capita than other districts, especially if they have more crime. The answer is not to take away from the Dublin districts that have those resources; it is to allocate more gardaí into under-resourced districts.

We need more gardaí on the beat in the villages of Dublin West. We should not have to rely on one Garda station serving 120,000 people there. There has been a lack of evidence-based policymaking. Will the Minister of State invite the Garda Commissioner to provide a report on levels of allocation of gardaí to all Dublin metropolitan regions with reference to population and crime levels? I am sure that data will tell a story we are very familiar with in Dublin West.

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for attending this debate. I will raise a couple of matters. I welcome the Government's commitment to the Dublin city task force and the implementation of its report. It is very important for the city centre and restoring confidence in the city.

I will call out two items in the report. The first is "Big Move 5 - Deliver more targeted and better located services for vulnerable populations in [the] city ...". That is not easy to do. For example, there is a huge concentration of emergency accommodation on Gardiner Street. If we are to deal with the issue of safety, we will have to start redistributing those facilities. It will not be popular in other jurisdictions and locations throughout the country, but it is very important that everybody takes their fair share of those services. The second item in the report is Big Move 4, which recommends an additional 1,000 gardaí for the city, as my colleague mentioned. They will be very important for the city centre. I look forward to hearing about early progress and a timeline for recruitment, numbers and when boots will be put on the ground.

On a related point, from my experience in politics, community gardaí are often undervalued. Sometimes, that section seems to be seen as something of a backwater in the context of the various units of An Garda Síochána, but community gardaí do a huge service for their communities. They establish great rapport over many years in local communities and have very good relations with them. They are vital to the effective functioning of An Garda Síochána in our communities. Will the Government consider a community garda allowance, or some sort of allowance, that will allow An Garda Síochána to rebalance that perception? It would give an indication that the service is valued and rewarded. That is a very important element.

I mentioned previously the proposed Dublin metropolitan region headquarters at Northern Cross. I take the opportunity to raise that matter again. It is a new divisional headquarters for An Garda Síochána that will go into Northern Cross. Nothing is better in policing than boots on the ground. That headquarters will make a huge difference to safety and the perception of communities in Clongriffin, Belmayne and other areas. I encourage and ask the Government to continue to prioritise the delivery of that station.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I congratulate the new Minister of State, the Ceann Comhairle and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle on their new positions. I wish them well.

It is self-evident that with the rapidly increasing population, more gardaí are needed. I am very glad that the Government has taken very positive steps in that regard. Figures from Templemore indicate that it will probably be successful in its attempt to recruit 5,000 extra gardaí in the lifetime of this Government. I hope that it does so.

I will make one special plea to the Minister of State. A study is under way on the reconstitution of the Garda Reserve, which has the capacity to be a powerful adjunct and addition to the Garda force, not just in policing public events but in deterrence, especially in areas afflicted by antisocial behaviour. I ask the Minister to conclude and act on that study as soon as possible.

It is also a fact that as the population increases we will need more prison spaces, but we cannot go down the road of permanently building prisons and incarcerating people in them. I agree with the Minister that quite a large percentage of prisoners in the country probably should not be in jail. We should deal with them in some other way. The difficulty is that the non-custodial sanctions we have are pretty useless, not to put too fine a point on it, for example, the recent scandalous revelations about non-collection of fines. We have a very antiquated system of collecting fines in this country. It wastes Garda time going around begging people to keep up their instalments, etc. A much more effective way to collect fines would be to apply the attachment system to people's income, whether it is from employment, social welfare or whatever.

I have come across many cases of people, especially those in deprived areas, on fixed incomes and the elderly, who have incurred financial losses as a result of the activities of people engaged in antisocial behaviour. I would like a system to be in place whereby people who are convicted of this antisocial behaviour, whether they are fined, or an attachment order or whatever is made against them, that this be directly related to compensating those people for the losses they have suffered. Some of those convicted are underage. They do not have any income and are not even old enough to be on social welfare. In some, though not all, of those cases, the parents of those kids have made no attempt whatsoever to control their children's behaviour. In those situations, if that can be established, I would not mind parents being called upon to pay the appropriate compensation.

The Minister for Justice, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, has made a very good start in his job. The feedback on him is extremely good throughout the country. I wish him the very best. I am confident that he will continue as he started.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Yesterday, the Minister stated that he would listen carefully to what was said by Members in this House because they are on the ground experiencing all of what is happening in respect of crime and so on. I will take him at his word. To learn to improve the morale in An Garda Síochána, we need only go to John Barrett, who did a great service in exposing many controversies and scandals within the Garda, only to find himself booted out of the force and out of his job. I ask the Minister of State to reach out to him and listen to what he has to say. He should also talk to Maurice McCabe because we have learned nothing from that tribunal. We have learned absolutely nothing and have not put in the structures necessary to improve the Garda and give gardaí the scope to do their job. If the Minister of State wants further proof of the continuation of the abuse and blackguarding of gardaí who make complaints, the intimidation and, in some cases, the sexual abuse that goes on, he should listen to Lois West.

Deputy Alan Kelly, who had more time than I have, made a wonderful contribution in which he put before the House very many issues that the Minister of State should take note of. I ask him to examine the Shane O’Farrell case because within that case is everything that is wrong in the State, the Garda, the DPP and the courts system. This State beat up Shane O’Farrell’s family to hide the truth. That is what is happening. If the Minister of State is serious about that, he needs to start there. Then he needs to consider the contributions made by Members here.

In my constituency, which is no different from anywhere else, we have a drugs issue, a crisis, that is out of control. You can buy drugs on the street as easily as you can buy a pint of beer. You can sell drugs on the street and no one seems to bother or take action.

Extreme antisocial behaviour is ongoing in every single community and it is destroying communities. That behaviour, coupled with the violence and drugs, is simply causing serious problems for the young people in our country.

I ask the Minister of State to examine online crime and the fact that you can defame someone or a business online and get away with it. The Garda is ill equipped to deal with that issue.

Garda presence has been spoken about. In north and south Kilkenny, which are big rural areas, police stations have been closed. They need to be reopened and remanned. We need to have gardaí on the streets in the towns and villages to restore the confidence that people once enjoyed when they had a garda presence at that level. In cities like Kilkenny, where the numbers boom from time to time because of tourism, additional gardaí are needed during the tourism season. That requires a Commissioner to take the initiative, support the troops on the ground, the gardaí, and ensure communities are represented.

The new Garda structure, in line with that of the new local authorities, is not as good as the last one. There is not the same opportunity for input and you do not feel the same connection to the local gardaí. All of this feeds into the notion or feeling among the public that things are out of control to a degree in certain areas of our country and most parts of our cities and towns. If we do not deal with this now and have a modern, dynamic Garda force, we will pay a price in the future.

Ann Graves (Dublin Fingal East, Sinn Fein)
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Dublin is a great city. Our people, history and rich culture make it a great place to live. Everyone has a right to feel safe. Every community should be a safe and welcoming place in which to live, work and visit, but unfortunately not everyone feels safe here in Dublin. Every community is different but the challenges are the same. The lack of a visible, accessible, reliable and accountable Garda service has created a sense of fear and desperation in many homes and communities across Dublin. The lack of investment, cuts to essential services, and poor planning, transport and infrastructure all contribute to making neighbourhoods unsafe for residents. Of course, it is not true in all areas of Dublin. These challenges are the preserve of certain postcodes. Some communities have suffered for years from neglect and marginalisation, brought about and made worse by consecutive Governments imposing cuts from which they have never recovered. Youth services, mental health services, addiction services and drug task forces – I can go on and on – have all borne the brunt of Government cuts. These cuts hurt and cause damage. If we are to create safe communities, the Government must commit to investing in these essential services, not in a piecemeal fashion but through multi-annual budgets that are adequate and sustainable.

I fully acknowledge that we cannot simply police our way into safety, but the Garda must be a central part of any community safety plan. Garda numbers in Dublin have yet to return to pre-austerity numbers. The programme for Government commits to recruiting 5,000 additional gardaí. This is welcome but where is the plan to retain the current number? Gardaí are voting with their feet. We are haemorrhaging gardaí to the private sector and emigration. Pay, conditions and morale have to be addressed as a matter of urgency by the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan.

In my constituency, Dublin Fingal East, Swords needs a Garda station that is fit for purpose. The current station is there since Swords was a village, not a town. Swords station serves a population of over 50,000. The gardaí provide an excellent service, which I know from experience, but the station is simply not fit for purpose. The public and gardaí deserve better. We deserve a new, fully functional Garda station that meets the needs of our community.

Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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It is a very challenging time, particularly in Dublin, when it comes to policing and justice. We hear stories every week about assaults and violence on our streets, and people simply do not feel safe. The fact is that we do not have enough gardaí. Back in 2009, in my local Garda station in Coolock, for example, there were 123 gardaí. Today, the number is slightly lower. Between 2009 and now, the population covered has increased dramatically. The Belmayne and Clongriffin population alone is now estimated to be 30,000 and is expected to hit 50,000.

Back in 2019, when the constituency of Dublin Bay North was facing very serious issues with criminality, the then Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan, arrived at Coolock with hand-picked Government representatives and told the media he was to build a new Garda station for the region and, indeed, regional headquarters in Northern Cross. Six years later, we still have no Garda station. I ask the Minister of State to get us an update on this.

One of the main issues raised in my constituency office is Garda response times. People are often apologised to because there is only one Garda patrol car out in their area at the time in question. That is simply not good enough. Our gardaí need to be resourced with the equipment they need to do their job properly.

One thing I know from my years as a community activist is that community policing works. We see this all the time. A community response works. When communities and local organisations have built up relationships of trust with the gardaí, they feel more confident discussing other problems in the area, be it antisocial behaviour, vandalism or more serious crime. We all see that early intervention can make a genuine difference in a young person’s life.

May I just ask the Minister of State-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy. The time is up. I call Deputy Michael Collins.

Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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I might follow up with the Minister of State on the last point.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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I wish the Minister of State the best in his role.

We were all asking for more gardaí on the ground and in our communities. It is no surprise that, in the few minutes I have, I will be making this request for west Cork. We are very fortunate in west Cork, particularly the Ballydehob–Schull area, to have Garda Jonathan McCarthy living and working. That is very valuable. A garda like Jonathan is of incredible value to a community because such a garda knows who is who, who should or should not be in the community, and who is there for good and benefit of people and who is not. Unfortunately, throughout this country we have lost the local garda living in the locality. I commend Garda McCarthy and his family on making the decision to do so. Community garda are essential across the country. Jonathan is well acquainted with the local dynamics and is involved in the local community. He knows which parents or teachers to contact with youth-related issues, which families or neighbours to approach with concerns about the elderly, and the right individuals to engage with on local matters. This model would be highly effective throughout Ireland. The Minister of State cannot dictate where a garda goes to live but he can certainly give gardaí incredible supports to live in the communities they work in. It would turn policing around in this country.

I am involved with the Garda youth awards, just on the outside looking in, to be honest, and maybe trying to put forward the name of some young person in our community who needs to be commended. I commend Garda Damian White and others, who have long been associated with the Garda youth awards.

These awards are excellent for recognising the hard work of young people and the enthusiasm they have for their communities. Many people criticise young people but these awards are a special way for young people to be acknowledged for the significant work they do in their communities. Without the dedicated individuals who organise the event, such as Garda White, it would be challenging to provide such acknowledgement.

The unfortunate situation of international protection accommodation services, IPAS, centres being set up in rural communities means gardaí must be under immense pressure. No extra gardaí are going to be in those local communities and they need assistance. It does not matter if there are IPAS centres in an area. Even if there is an influx of 40 or 50 people to a village of 150 or 200 people, whether they come from Goleen, Donegal or across the water, extra gardaí and manpower are required. That is not being accounted for and is causing angst and worry in rural communities. There are discussions about establishing an IPAS centre in Skibbereen, which is causing concern. Another may be established in Glengarriff, a small tourist village that lacks the infrastructure to accommodate any influx of IPAS users. The village has no resident gardaí and limited services. This raises concerns about how these individuals manage their daily needs. They have daily needs and we need to be concerned about them. Unfortunately, the services are not being backed up by the Government's plans. I do not know if the Government has a great plan or if it has pulled together a botch job.

Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent Ireland Party)
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I wish the Minister of State well in his role. We need gardaí in my area. We also need equipment for our gardaí. Searches and rescues happened during snow and storms. The Garda assisted in searches for missing persons and had to borrow equipment from another county.

I wish to put a question on the record and would like a written response from the Minister of State. There was an investigation of gardaí in Limerick in 2019. That investigation is still ongoing. If somebody was found guilty, they would have been brought to justice by now. This has been going on for six years. Those gardaí could be back on the beat if they were found to have done nothing wrong. Why is the investigation taking so long? It does not make sense. If the judicial system works, it should not take that long. I would like to know when those cases will come to a close. When will we get those gardaí back on the beat, if that is going to happen? I would like a deadline for that.

According to the statistics, per head of population Ireland is now one of the biggest users of cocaine in Europe. That is alarming. We see all the different laws that are coming in. We are tightening up on drink and drug laws. We now have the changing of speed limits. When you add them all together, we do not have a police force to police these laws. When are we going to get the police force to police these laws? When are we going to get the community gardaí who are vital? Gardaí are working hard at the moment. They recently brought out a tractor on a tractor run. The tractor was painted in the colours of An Garda Síochána. What did that do? It allowed the Garda to communicate with the younger generation and try to help them with health and safety. It opened communication between the Garda and younger people coming up. It was a way for the Garda to say it is okay for young people to approach gardaí and that is what we want to happen. We want young people to know they can approach and confide in gardaí. That is a good thing. It is thinking outside the box. However, it can only be done with investment from the Government. It must provide the facilities and equipment for the Garda to carry out more of that work. When that happens when people are young, it will work as they get older because the communication is there. They can work together as a community for the betterment of the whole area. That is key. We need investment in Garda services and equipment and more of what we are seeing from An Garda Síochána at the moment, in collaboration with younger people.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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In my limited time to talk about policing community safety, I will focus on a couple of key points. The first is pay for gardaí. We need to create total pay restoration to the levels before the economic downturn. As I have mentioned in respect of nurses, if we are to have gardaí posted in urban areas, they need a Dublin allowance as an incentive. Otherwise we will be unable to replace the officers leaving the force. I put that first and foremost.

The second thing is community policing. You get more bang for your buck when you are able to be out there, liaising with people from all sorts of backgrounds and identifying problems before they happen. That is policing at its best.

We need to be putting the skills of our gardaí to their best use. I would not be one for diminishing the fitness test, for example. I suggest a super fit, focused and trained Garda core. However, why not have a dedicated Garda traffic corps that specialises in that area? We could separate it entirely. There are people who would be interested in traffic policing but would never think of getting involved in on-street policing. We might need to consider that option.

We need to update the IT systems. PULSE was not fit for purpose when it came out in the 1990s and it is definitely not fit for purpose now. We have data accuracy integrity issues, access and security concerns, technical and usability problems and training and user competency issues for this old system.

Others have mentioned governance and oversight issues. There are a whole lot of concerns. I also believe we need to change the legislation to assist the Garda to ensure there are more consequences for those who offend. I am not only talking about curfews. I am also talking about Revenue getting involved to dock people's pay or social welfare if they are not working. We need to create consequences for people who commit crimes, thereby resulting in less work for the Garda to allow it to focus on the real issues.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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I wish the Minister of State well. There is a massive amount of work to be done. There is a significant drug problem in our communities. I recently spoke to several gardaí who told me they do not have the manpower or time to deal with drugs. Those drug issues include underage kids taking drugs, which is a major issue. Theft, violence and antisocial behaviour are all on the rise.

We all know we need more gardaí and that we need to reopen our rural Garda stations. That cannot be done, however, because of issues with recruitment and retention. Being a garda used to be a job a father would pass to a son, but that link has broken because we have reduced morale and pay and conditions in the Garda. There has been a radical change to policing. This country used to have a proactive community policing model. That has now been eroded because the Garda Commissioner and successive senior managers would rather have gardaí tied up behind screens doing paperwork. That is the truth.

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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No, it is not.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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That is what is happening. Many years ago, gardaí would be on the street and would know what was happening before it even happened. That is no longer the case. We need to return to proactive community policing.

In 2023, the Garda Representative Association voted no confidence in the Commissioner. A total of 98% voted no confidence. I recently met the Commissioner at Mayo County Council. I asked him what has happened in management of An Garda Síochána to address the issues. Nothing has happened since that vote of no confidence. Is it any wonder we have a recruitment and retention crisis when we will not listen to gardaí?

A garda in my constituency retired recently after decades of service and it was not even acknowledged by senior management. He had no exit interview. If the Government had bothered to listen to him, it would realise what is happening. Perhaps we would not need TikTok videos and the waste of time with gardaí dancing and prancing around. Let us address the actual issues. That is what is happening. No amount of TikTok and spin will address the issues. Gardaí are talking. They are telling young recruits and other young people, including their sons, daughters and cousins, that it is not a job for the future. It is getting worse.

I am pleading with the Minister of State to listen to gardaí, find out why 98% have no confidence in the Commissioner and address the issues with increased bureaucracy and pay and conditions. Then, perhaps, we will reach the programme for Government target that states we will have 1,000 extra gardaí every year. However, at the moment it is not going to happen.

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I wish the Minister of State well in his new brief and also wish my constituency colleague Jim O'Callaghan well in his new brief.

I was going to start by giving praise to gardaí and the work they do, but having listened to Deputy Lawless's contribution I find it really frustrating that somebody in this Chamber would stand up and belittle gardaí in the way-----

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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A Cheann Comhairle, that is out of order.

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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-----he has just done.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Did he mention your name?

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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He did mention my name.

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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To suggest there are no-----

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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Withdraw the statement.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Please do not interrupt, Deputy Lawless. I will ask the question. Did you, Deputy Geoghegan, mention Deputy Lawless's name with regard to that?

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I did mention the Deputy's name.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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You cannot say it was belittling. I ask you to withdraw it. Deputy Lawless is entitled to make his statement too, Deputy.

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Am I not allowed identify things that are being said in this House and to challenge those things? That is an extraordinary-----

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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A Cheann Comhairle, the point I made was around management of An Garda Síochána and I have tremendous respect and gratitude-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Thank you. Deputy, resume your seat. You have had your time.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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-----for the wonderful work gardaí are doing.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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You talked about them wasting their time dancing.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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No.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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You did.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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He said it.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy, resume your seat please and let me speak.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Stop the clock as well, a Cheann Comhairle.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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We can stop the clock, yes. We can stop the clock and resolve it. What was said was a reference to what Deputy Lawless-----

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Correct.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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-----said and it is the Deputy's opinion.

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Precisely.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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It is the Deputy's opinion about what you said.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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I was referring to senior management, a Cheann Comhairle.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy, whatever you were referring to it is-----

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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Senior management are not listening to gardaí.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Excuse me, Deputy. It is Deputy Geoghegan's opinion of what you said. That is it. Move on. Start the clock.

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Those of us who are public representatives, which is every single one of us in this room, deal with community gardaí every day of the week. The public watching this listen to and deal with community gardaí every day of the week and the public have huge faith and trust in community gardaí. They do not view gardaí as something to be featured on social media. That is not what this is about.

We need more gardaí. Everybody recognises that challenge. We have to recruit more gardaí. That is exactly what the Government is doing in its recruitment campaign. We must persuade people to come into the Garda, but we must also protect our gardaí. Over 300 gardaí were assaulted last year. They are men and women who are bravely putting themselves in harm’s way in order to protect our safety and security and they need to be championed for the work they do in all our communities. We need to do more to support the work they do because we cannot police our way out of the problems of security and safety across the country, and in my city of Dublin in particular. There is a plan for dealing with safety in our city and it is not all on the shoulders of An Garda Síochána, but by increasing patrols in the city, which has happened over the last year, we have seen an increase in detections, arrests and prosecutions. Despite this we still have major safety challenges in our city. The ways to address those challenges are precisely written in the Dublin city task force report.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to discuss policing and community safety. I wish the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, well in his appointment as Minister for Justice. He has certainly had a very strong start and I welcome his fresh approach to his very challenging portfolio.

I welcome the Minister’s ambition to introduce the new legislation which will support our gardaí and give them the tools they need to carry out their job. I support changes to the stop-and-search rules, reforming bail laws and the introduction of facial recognition technology, which should have been introduced in the last term. In particular, I strongly support the proposal to ensure anyone convicted of a crime while out on bail receives a consecutive sentence for that crime. This has been the subject of many debates in this House and there have obviously been attempts to bring in legislation on it. If there is ambiguity and if it cannot be achieved through the sentencing guidelines then we should introduce primary legislation to deal that aspect of the courts and the legislation that exists.

The public have the right to be safe and feel safe as they go about their business in their communities, in the city centre and on public transport. This has been an acute problem for quite some time here in Dublin. The answer is more gardaí out and about in our communities. I welcome the Minister’s confirmation Garda numbers will increase by 5,000 members over the next five years. We also need to see an increase in Garda Reserve numbers. It has played and can continue to play a vital and supportive contributing role in An Garda Síochána.

I am look forward to working with the Minister of State as we deal with the challenges facing our communities and cities, particularly here in Dublin.

Tom Brabazon (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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I echo the remarks of my colleague, Deputy Devlin, especially regarding the appointment of Jim O'Callaghan as the new Minister for Justice. I wish him well in that regard.

I have a number of points to make about this area. They are small points but nonetheless very important. The use of the 999 number is counterintuitive. For years 999 was used by the public for genuine emergencies such as a homicide in the course of commission or a bank robbery that was under way. Now we have to ring 999 when there is a gang of teenagers on a corner and it seems utterly ridiculous. It also has the effect of undermining the efficacy and the presence of a local Garda station because the minor issues a local station may have been in a position to deal with in the past are now dealt with and triaged by central command and control and you may or may not get a Garda car or Garda presence to deal with the issue, which can sometimes turn into something bigger.

Another issue is the policy of non-pursuit of scramblers, e-bikes and so forth. These vehicles are used as courier mechanisms for drugs and weaponry throughout our city. You will often see children masked up on these vehicles. They are effectively untouchable because there is a Garda policy not to chase them. Creating an untouchable group who do not experience consequences has opened up a way for crime gangs to blossom in our city. I ask the Minister to look very seriously at the policies adopted in this area by the London Metropolitan Police, for example. It is very important no group is above the law in this regard.

The Criminal Justice (Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity) Act that was passed last year is very important legislation and I welcome that it was commenced last May. However, I took a cursory look last night and I did not see any evidence in the media of any prosecutions having been brought under that legislation. I ask the Minister to look at that. There is ample evidence, based on my experience of going about my business in the city, and we can see lots of this going on under noses.

My final point is on the divisional headquarters promised by former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar back in 2019 for my constituency. It is a really important piece of infrastructure for us. Coolock Garda station is groaning at the seams. We can recruit all the gardaí we like but we have nowhere to put them. We have nowhere for our female members to change and nowhere for our male members to change. There is not much point in having these numbers unless they can be assigned to a particular area or district. It is really important for our communities that this project goes ahead and that every emphasis is put by Government on this. There was significant delay because there was a row between Dublin City Council’s valuation office and the OPW in that regard that went on for far too long. We need to get this to planning stage, get the ground turned and get this vital piece of infrastructure delivered.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I support a robust Garda response to crime. I support dedicated transport police on our public transport to police it and especially in my constituency of Dublin South-West to police public transport modes like the Luas red line. I support facial recognition technology.

I support a ban on masks at public protests. I support the confiscation and destruction of scrambler and quad bikes and scooters, including e-scooters, when they are used to engage in antisocial behaviour and reckless endangerment of people and to carry drugs.

I echo a previous speaker, Deputy John McGuinness, regarding the Shane O'Farrell case, which I have followed closely as an Opposition and Government TD, and how the institutions of State can still connive to thwart justice. As the Minister knows, young gardaí are rightly frustrated by the bureaucracy and oversight they face in terms of GSOC and other oversight bodies. These are necessary and did not arise out of a vacuum. They arose because of chronic abuses in the force historically, and that is why they are needed. Regrettably, abuses are still taking place in the force by a small minority. Regrettably, power and seniority within the Garda force is used to thwart whistleblowers. The vast majority of gardaí are exemplary professionals doing a very tough and worthwhile job.

There is increasing evidence that, in terms of law and order, menacing antisocial behaviour and petty crime is going unreported because gardaí lack the resources and numbers to deal with such offences. That is probably the biggest challenge the Government faces. Our beautiful city of Dublin needs vital resuscitation, and additional resources for gardaí are a key part of ensuring city life in Dublin is resuscitated and revitalised.

I want to highlight the issue of social media in regard to catfishing. One of our colleagues in Fianna Fáil, former Senator Lisa Chambers, introduced a landmark Bill in Seanad Éireann aimed at tackling the harmful practice of catfishing. The proposed legislation would make it a criminal offence to engage in catfishing and would empower gardaí to act and provide crucial recourse for victims. There have been some notable high-profile media examples of catfishing occurring in recent times.

There is a danger at the moment because recent content policy announcements from Meta essentially mean there will be less moderation of what is happening online. That poses a great threat to vulnerable people and communities. Harmful online behaviour, including, as I have stated, catfishing, risks becoming even more widespread in Ireland. Now, more than ever, we need to prioritise online safety and ensure our laws can face evolving digital threats while balancing privacy and free expression rights.

Gaps in the law at the moment leave victims vulnerable. Catfishing is a particular example of that. Gaps in the law also impede gardaí in their ability to respond effectively. I know the Minister and Government are committed to strengthening online safety laws and I ask the Minister to prioritise that.

I congratulate the Minister of State on his appointment at the Department of Justice and my colleague, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, on his appointment as Minister for Justice. The Minister has made a strong and robust start in his tenure and he enjoys the support of the House.

I also know that the Ministers will shortly incorporate the migration piece into their portfolios. I ask that we continue where the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, has started, namely, with a fair but firm and robust response to the issue of those seeking asylum and international protection. Those who are entitled to do so should be granted all of the support of the State in doing so. We need to consider the number of countries we still regard as safe, because countries like Denmark, Holland and others designate far more countries as safe than we do, meaning that citizens of those countries cannot seek international protection in Ireland.

I was lucky today. One of my colleagues did not show up, so we got some additional time.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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The funny part of this is that some Government back bench TDs have not turned up for their time.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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He is at a briefing.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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We are talking about an issue-----

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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He is at a briefing.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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It happened again last week and the week before.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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He is at a briefing.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Today in Cork city-----

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I want to put it on the record-----

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Can I have my time back, please?

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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You brought it up. We will stop the clock to clarify.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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We have been interrupted. If a Sinn Féin person stands up and interrupts, we get lambasted.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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No, I have stopped the clock to clarify. It was notified to the Whip's office. The time was the time. It did not mean it was allocated if I was notified.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs are looking for speaking time in here and they are not turning up.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy, I am-----

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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They are crying that it is the end of the world, but they are not turning up.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I am clarifying it. We will get the clock going again.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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There are loads of Opposition people who would take their speaking time. I will take extra time if I can get it.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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There are empty benches over there.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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We will go back to another area where the Government is failing. In Cork city, figures show that there are 26 fewer gardaí compared with the end of 2023 and a staggering 61 fewer gardaí compared with two years ago. At the same time, over the past 12 months, burglaries, thefts and extortion have increased by 53% in the southern region. Last year, my constituency was subjected to a terrifying ordeal involving numerous petrol bombs, shootings and attacks on innocent homes where people were mistakenly identified. We saw what happened to people in the past who were terrorised for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. People are scared and the one thing they want to see is gardaí on the streets so they know there is someone there keeping an eye out and making sure there is law and order. People deserve to be safe in their homes.

Blackstone Rovers pitch in Fairfield, next to Cathedral Celtic, was destroyed by scramblers. Brave volunteers are doing brilliant work in the community, but the reality is young people who destroy property with their scramblers and bikes know there are no gardaí around and the chances of being caught are very limited. Therefore, they feel they can do whatever they want. We need community gardaí on the ground. We have seen the same happen in Glenthorn Celtic, Ballincollig AFC and Knocknaheeny Celtic. It goes right across the city and is not confined to one area. We want more gardaí supporting clubs and volunteers.

The Garda stations in Ballincollig, Blarney and Glanmire need to be open for longer. I am calling for extra resources, gardaí and civilian staff to make sure that happens. We need gardaí on the ground. The gardaí we have are doing a brilliant job; we just do not have enough of them in Cork.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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There will be general agreement on the fact that, when we have seen a community response, as happened in my town of Dundalk, we have seen community gardaí doing absolutely brilliant work in their interactions with the communities. Sometimes they can deal with issues before they ever happen. We need a lot more of that. We need to have community safety partnerships up and running. I spoke to the Minister regarding the necessity for interventions at family and community level and youth diversion programmes, such as what we have in Muirhevnamor and being run out of the house in Cox's Demesne. We also need to see the likes of the Greentown project and real diversion for those who are becoming involved in criminality.

We know the lack of addiction services across the board and the chaotic outworking of serious organised crime. It is not only drug debt and intimidation; there are also chaotic cases, sales pitches, party houses and people who come apart under addiction and create a huge hassle for the communities and businesses that surround them. Supports are not in place, whether those are gardaí, Tusla or the powers county councils have to deal with estate management issues. It is a multiagency matter and we need to deal with that.

I refer specifically to mental health issues, which seem to be falling to the gardaí to deal with. We all know we do not have a robust enough mental health service. I will deal with one specific case without getting into any names. I know of a young woman to whom I have spoken. When speaking to her, I heard of huge conspiratorial ramblings and issues regarding personal hygiene. I know her family, who are very good people, but they cannot have her in the house.

The gardaí have been very good in how they have looked after her. They have arrested her multiple times under the Mental Health Act and doctors will not sign committal forms. They will sign for voluntary admission but not for committal, and we are dealing with circumstances that will get a lot worse. There is also the issue that many people no longer have a long-standing GP who would recognise the change in a person. I am not even getting into one element of how difficult this is. We could be talking about anosognosia and the idea that a person who is sick does not realise that is the case.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you Deputy. We are going to move on.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I am not a medic but it is frustration that brings this to the floor of the House.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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Go n-éirí leis an Aire Stáit ina phost nua. The presence of community gardaí is not just about enforcing the law, it is about building trust and, in north Dublin, creating the safer neighbourhoods I want to see. It is about fostering real partnerships between gardaí and the people they serve.

In recent years, we have seen progress in Dublin and I can stand here proudly and say I am the son of a garda who served for 35 years. I have seen at first hand how gardaí help when they are dedicated to community policing roles, engagement with youth services and an emphasis on prevention rather than reactive policing. When gardaí work closely with residents, schools and businesses, it has been shown through multiple studies that antisocial behaviour drops and a strong sense of safety grows. Community-led initiatives, such as the Garda youth diversion and outreach programmes, have proved that when people feel heard they engage more positively with law enforcement.

I want to bring the Minister of State's attention to Belmayne in Clongriffin where there have recently been multiple incidents of teenage gangs assaulting residents. These teenagers have been named and are underage but the gardaí are not getting them into these youth diversion programmes. They need to be in those programmes. If you can prevent someone at an early age from engaging in crime, you can save their future.

We need to go further. We need to increase funding in the Garda, build up more gardaí on the beat and increase visibility on our streets. We need stronger partnerships between the Garda and local organisations to ensure gardaí remain proactive rather than reactive. When Garda models put people first, it prevents the crime before it happens, making Dublin safer. For me, that is especially important for my constituency of Dublin Bay North.

Gillian Toole (Meath East, Independent)
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Go n-éirí an t-ádh leis an Aire Stáit sa phost nua. I am the wife of a retired member and related to many serving members, so my gratitude and appreciation for the role of An Garda Síochána is unquestionable. Growing up in the Ratoath-Dunshaughlin area of Meath East fadó fadó, Garda Andy Morgan was our weekly visitor to the primary school. He knew us and, more important, we knew him. That sense of guilt, whether you were up to something or not, is probably still ingrained in many of us from more than 50 years ago. It serves to illustrate the importance of the role of the community garda then and now. I will duplicate what colleagues have said regarding the importance of community policing and youth diversion projects. I wish to give a special mention to Garda Kelly, Garda Connor and Garda Fitzpatrick, operating from Duleek Garda station in the Meath-Westmeath division, who are involved in community policing.

Like all other areas, however, we need more gardaí and more collaboration with local authorities on the design of housing estates. Permeability is a buzz word in planning but it can also be a byway to escape routes. When it comes to community security and safety for older residents, the community gardaí know the people concerned and keep an eye out for them with the vulnerable persons register. With regard to increasing resources, I am happy to help and support the Minister of State in whatever way I can.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on what has become an issue of major public and community concern. There can be no doubt that we are witnessing a significant escalation in knife-related incidents and antisocial behaviour and, in many cases, a rapid deterioration of respect for the rule of law. If you talk to communities or retailers away from the glare of the public spotlight, they will tell you that preteens and young adults are engaging in dramatically high levels of unchecked intimidation, vandalism and petty crime, often with little Garda intervention due to age protections.

The reply to a recent parliamentary question I tabled indicated the number of Garda members assigned to my own county of Offaly rose by just five from the end of December 2021 up to 31 October 2024, from a low of 157 to 162. That increase was over the course of three years. It is not acceptable. Gardaí are stretched beyond reason, despite all the pledges from the Government regarding ramping up recruitment.

We cannot shy away from the need to put in place entirely new measures to record data on the level of crime being committed by those in the country illegally or without proper vetting. This is absolutely necessary. People simply have no confidence that the tens of thousands of people arriving here are being checked against criminal databases. Absolutely nobody should get a pass or free rein just because they have entered a country through the asylum process. I am again calling for robust and forensic levels of scrutiny to be applied to this issue.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I will be as brief as I can. This is a huge issue. I welcome the statements but the numbers are being manicured and we are just not getting them. We want to keep Templemore because it is a wonderful centre. In south Tipperary, Carrick-on-Suir has three gardaí and two sergeants, but it used to have 14 gardaí. The Clonmel Garda district covers Carrick-on-Suir, Mullinahone, Kilsheelan, Cashel, Cahir and all the villages. The superintendent told me he would have eight gardaí on a good day. Are you telling me the criminals in roving gangs do not know this? It is a shocking situation that is only going to deteriorate, given the number of people due to leave An Garda. Those figures are there. The Garda always knew those members would be leaving the force 30 years after joining up, but it has not planned for this. We have seen that the Garda has been trying to recruit Muslims, Travellers and anybody else. It is doing its best but this will not buy it the time it needs. We need to get more gardaí on the streets.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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My time is very short but I want to thank all the gardaí for the great work they are doing. Criminals and vandals are more daring now than they were in the past and have many more ways of doing harm and blackguarding.

The area I want to focus on is both sides of the Kenmare river and Kenmare Bay, where Garda stations have been closed down. All the way from Kenmare down to Cahersiveen and back to Ardgroom and Lauragh and all that side as far as the boundary with Cork, numbers have been reduced. We have many small piers and harbours that are totally exposed and available to those bringing drugs in to our country. I wish to highlight the likes of Sneem. If something happens down there, it takes a good hour for the patrol car to come from Killarney and a good half an hour to come from Kenmare or Waterville. That place is very exposed as a result of the way the force is being divided. We need a patrol car to be available, especially to monitor drug importation because that is happening our country and county are riddled with drugs at present.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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We will close with a statement from the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy. I missed the opportunity to congratulate him when I was speaking earlier. We all wish him the very best in his new role and congratulate him again.

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I am grateful for the opportunity to address the House on the issue of community safety policing and crime. I thank all the Deputies for their contributions today. They brought their own perspectives and insights on how we can make our country a safer place for our citizens to live.

We all share a common vision that everyone has the right to live in safe and secure communities. The programme for Government for the next five years has extensive and ambitious commitments to enhance the safety and security of our communities right across the range of justice, home affairs and migration. People are concerned, and rightly so, about crime in their communities. High-visibility policing is important to the safety of our communities and that theme has run through most of the contributions today.

A well-resourced Garda organisation is vital to improving the feeling of safety for all. Like the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, I want to see increased Garda visibility in communities across the country. That is why the programme for Government commits to recruiting an additional 5,000 Garda members over the next five years. We want to see gardaí in every type of community setting, whether urban or rural. The Minister has impressed this view upon the Garda Commissioner. It is a view shared by the latter and, indeed, by the men and women on the front line of An Garda Síochána.

There have been challenges in the area of recruitment but we are starting to see the momentum move in the right direction. The overall Garda workforce, which includes Garda members, civilian staff and the reserve, is, at 18,000, the highest it has been. As Minister of State with responsibility for migration, I am proud that An Garda Síochána is committing to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in our society. The organisation continues to foster and embrace diversity by increasing efforts to attract and recruit personnel from every section of our society by enhancing its workplace culture to include, value and support all Garda members and by challenging discrimination and prejudice where it occurs in our society. The increase in the number of civilian Garda staff in recent years has freed up 900 Garda members to concentrate on front-line policing.

We continue to see strong numbers of applications to join An Garda Síochána. This Friday, new gardaí will graduate from the Garda College in Templemore and will be assigned to stations right across the country. The arrival of new probationer gardaí to their stations will be a welcome sight in those communities. New front-line gardaí help the whole Garda organisation by facilitating moves to specialist areas dealing with new and emerging types of crimes, such as cybercrime and cyber fraud, and to areas like community policing. The latter is something Members of the House understand and value. Indeed, a large number of speakers mentioned it as an important and integral part of overall policing. Community gardaí do great work addressing quality-of-life issues, working with people in their local area and providing accessible and visible services to the community. It is important to note that the new Garda operational model, which is almost fully rolled out across the country, was specifically designed to deliver a greater level of public engagement with the superintendents in charge of community engagement in An Garda Síochána divisions.

Many of the new gardaí attesting in Templemore on Friday will be assigned to busy stations in our capital city. As a TD for Dublin South-West, this is very welcome to me, particularly as we approach the busy times around the St. Patrick's Day celebrations, when Dublin receives so many extra visitors from all over the world. We all want to see Dublin being a safe place for people to live in, work in and visit. Gardaí work tirelessly to keep our city safe for residents and visitors alike. When incidents occur, they respond quickly, effectively and with a graduated response. I am grateful to all gardaí for their ongoing efforts to keep people safe. The Garda Commissioner has assured the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, that he has the resources to police the city. At the end of December 2024, there were 3,809 gardaí working in Dublin. Of those, 1,381 are assigned to the Dublin metropolitan region, DMR, north-central and south-central divisions and to policing the inner city.

A number of Garda operations are taking place in Dublin to provide a high-visibility policing presence and deter antisocial behaviour. As part of Operation Citizen, uniformed Garda members perform high-visibility patrols on foot as well as on bicycles and respond to reports of crime throughout Dublin city centre. The members deployed to Operation Citizen are drawn from the Store Street and Pearse Street Garda stations, thereby utilising the gardaí who are best placed to provide the most effective policing service. They bring with them their local knowledge. Operation Táirge focuses on the growing issue of retail theft. In 2024, there were 8,460 arrests and 20,052 charge summonses recorded in association with this targeted operation.

At the heart of our approach to community safety is the principle that every community has the right to thrive and flourish. Youth justice is a vital part of that vision to create safe and secure communities, which is something the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, will work on throughout his brief. How we care for young people is central to this goal. Youth justice is not just about preventing crime; it is about nurturing potential and fostering resilience within our communities. It is not about young people avoiding the consequences of their actions. It is about offering them an opportunity to get back on the right path and to stay out of criminality. We are committed to providing specialist interventions for young individuals who are hard to reach. Our network of youth diversion projects, YDPs, do great work across the country in diverting young people who have become involved in crime or antisocial behaviour and supporting wider preventative work within communities and with families at risk. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, recently announced the selection of two new youth diversion projects for Tipperary and Clare, which will achieve the target set out in the youth justice strategy to ensure there is national coverage of the YDP service. Diverting vulnerable children away from a life of crime and giving them an opportunity to build a better future for themselves is key to our commitment to building safer and stronger communities.

An Garda Síochána and the Criminal Assets Bureau enjoy continuing success in disrupting the activities of criminals by seizing from them the proceeds of crime. We often hear that communities impacted by these criminals would like to see that money reinvested in their community. Putting the money back into communities is a real way to show that the efforts of law enforcement can directly contribute to making people feel safer. That is why we established the community safety fund, CSF, which encourages and supports the development of ways to improve our community safety by the people who best understand the needs of their locality. The CSF had an initial allocation of €2 million in 2022, increasing to €3 million in 2023, to €3.75 million in budget 2024 and to €4 million in budget 2025. We can see some themes emerging. Last year's successful applicants included projects aiming at addressing antisocial behaviour, domestic violence, drug-related intimidation, safety on public transport - a key concern for many people, social exclusion, youth programmes and prison post-release support. Many of those projects focus on the use of education, sport and recreation and social interaction to proactively address safety concerns in our communities.

Some Deputies may have concerns about the joint policing committees, JPCs, in their local area. The Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, which commences shortly, will provide for the establishment of a central national infrastructure, with local community safety partnerships, LCSPs, operating at each local authority level. The partnerships are building upon the good work undertaken through the joint policing committees. The LCSPs are also supplementing the work done by the JPCs by bringing them together with a broader range of stakeholders, including local councillors, An Garda Síochána, local residents, community representatives, business and education representatives and a variety of statutory agencies, including the HSE, Tusla and each local authority.

I thank Deputies for their contributions to this very important debate. I look forward to engaging with them, along with my fellow Ministers, in the coming months.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I wish the Minister of State the best of luck in his new role.