Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

We all have reason to be concerned by the rise in horrific crimes, which have become an everyday occurrence, and what is most worrying about many young criminals is that they show absolutely no remorse whatsoever. Worse, they see this as a sport and they taunt the gardaí. We are making one terrible mistake, which I have mentioned before, in that we do not seem to be supporting the gardaí as we should.

I am worried by the way in which the gardaí are being portrayed at present. It is unfair in most cases and we should ask ourselves if those are the gardaí as we know them. They are not as I know them; I have always found the gardaí to be helpful, efficient and courteous. I would go as far as to say that we have one of the best police forces in the world. If we are not seen to support them, we are siding with those who are denigrating the gardaí at every opportunity. It is time to cry halt. I refer in particular to "Prime Time", which raised many doubts in my mind as to how fair we are in our portrayal of the gardaí and in the stereotypes we are creating.