Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

As a Senator from the Roscommon-south Leitrim area, I am delighted the Minister and his good wife decided to move into that region. I sincerely hope that whatever difficulties he has encountered will be overcome. The area in question is certainly not a hotspot of crime but an area of tranquillity and relatively low crime. I grew up in Boyle, where at all times there was a civic duty to volunteer.

I once ran a pub and was certainly concerned at some stages about the high visibility of gardaí. They seemed to be able to have resources to clear pubs at night and to be involved in football clubs and teams and in all aspects of the community. During the Troubles most of the gardaí and special branch officers seemed to spend most of their time trailing so-called subversives. Whenever there was a meeting or so-called meeting, five or six detectives were present. Where did we get the resources from in that era? If we were to have serious troubles now, from where would the gardaí come?

One day in the early 1990s I was on my way to Sligo and was delighted to be stopped by gardaí and to see Uzi sub-machine guns. I was happy that our State was secure. I stated on the Order of Business today that I am against a reduction in the 1,600 armed gardaí and do not agree with what is being said about less lethal weapons. They are a sign of strength and anybody who is law-abiding has nothing to fear. I would be very concerned if do-gooders were talking down armed gardaí. The Garda has been a very serious and professional force over the years.

It was not the present Minister who decided to increase the number of gardaí by 2,000 but the former Minister, Deputy O'Donoghue. He certainly said it would be possible. The president of the GRA, Mr. Greg Fogarty, said the Garda College was already running at full capacity. Despite assurances from the then Minister, he said he remained sceptical as to whether the Minister's plan could be achieved. I have a certain sympathy for the Minister who is trying to deliver on someone else's rash promise. People voted for Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats in the belief that there would be extra gardaí, safer streets and lower crime levels. These people feel bitterly betrayed. In spite of the Minister's assurances, which I take at face value, the results of the local and European elections proved that people felt betrayed.

There were promises that extra gardaí would be delivered. The Minister said there was a battle for resources, therefore, there is a bit of a contradiction when he praises the Minister for Finance for tackling the €1.3 billion budget deficit given that he ensured the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform did not get the vital resources to deliver the 2,000 extra gardaí. We have said goodbye to the great Minister for Finance, whom Government Members said did such a good job, but he was the man who prevented the delivery of the 2,000 extra gardaí.

The Minister conceded that the plan was abandoned. He told The Sunday Business Post that the commitment was not honoured.