Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I ask the Leader to again invite the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to come before the House to listen to a debate on the ongoing level of crime on our streets. I raise this issue today following an interview on the Marian Finucane show this morning, which some Members may have heard. If they did, I expect that – as in my case – it brought tears to their eyes to listen to that poor man speak about his son who was viciously attacked in Cork nearly 12 months ago and who is still alive but unable to function. This type of crime is happening far too often on our streets and the Garda Síochána does not have the necessary resources to tackle it. I ask the Leader to request the Minister to come before the House to engage in a debate on this matter because the concerns expressed about it appear to be falling on deaf ears. We want to impress upon him again the seriousness of this problem.