Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

The Minister for Agriculture and Food should come to the House to discuss food safety. Consumers are entitled to know the country of origin of chicken. If the country of origin of chickens which are on supermarket shelves is not known, such chickens should be withdrawn. There is a great deal of concern about what people are eating. Chickens which come from Asian countries are often brought to Europe for further distribution and are sold under the EU banner of an individual member state. This form of deception is foisted on consumers. Developments in Thailand have probably focused concern on the importance of proper quality control over what is presented to the people and what they eat. I would be interested to know the thinking of the Minister, Deputy Walsh, in this regard.

We see a spate of incidents on the streets every weekend. The focus probably shifted to Enniscorthy, County Wexford, last week. It is well known that there are flash points in provincial towns and greater city areas every weekend, where there is potential for crises and assaults. People being kicked in the head is a new phenomenon. We often heard of fights when I was growing up, but we never heard of anybody being kicked in the head. Many suggestions as to what we should do are emanating from both Houses but, fundamentally, I would like the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to come to the House to clarify the progress in achieving the proposed 2,000 extra Garda places over the lifetime of this Government. The deployment of gardaí on the beat is a vital component in trying to eliminate the problems that exist. We have to face that at this stage. I do not claim that the Minister should recruit 2,000 people this year, but I am interested in receiving more information. If one mentions something in a programme for Government, one has to be serious in one's intent. I would like to think that the 2,000 extra gardaí will be recruited in the lifetime of this Government and I would like to hear from the Minister in that regard.