Cyprian Brady (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for being generous with his time. I also warmly welcome the announced increases in Garda numbers. I commend the Minister on achieving the current numbers, which, as he pointed out, were achieved against the odds.

My own experience is of Dublin inner city where there are individual gardaí who are respected and admired by everybody. We tend to only hear the negatives. Thousands of senior citizens will attend Christmas parties run by the Garda. The Minister attended a function in Croke Park with the No Name Club, which is a massive success throughout the country. These are the areas where the Garda excels.

Gardaí make a contribution to community life. One of my colleagues made this point in a rural context, but it happens in an urban context also. The additional numbers being allocated will ensure that gardaí can be left in stations for a substantial period of time. They can build relationships with the local community, its leaders and other agencies working in the area. I have seen the benefits of this first hand.

I commend the Minister and the Department on the roll-out of the community policing forum model, which is up and running in a number of areas around Dublin city. We are looking at co-operation between the gardaí, local community, local authorities and other agencies which operate within and make up a community. This initiative can be spread throughout the country. It is not just relevant to Dublin city.

I welcome the commitment by the Minister to work closely with the Garda Commissioner in targeting new resources specifically at the areas of greatest need. I welcome his commitment to put these gardaí on the street where they will be visible. A number of Senators referred to the fact that visibility is key to making the whole community feel safer. We must work particularly hard in that regard. We have all heard about so-called "no-go areas". Any garda on the beat will tell one that no area on his or her beat is a no-go area.

I commend the Minister, the Department and the gardaí on their actions at Dunsink over the past couple of days. They acted professionally under severe pressure. They are to be congratulated. We have heard stories about how low Garda morale is. There should be a comprehensive service operating from the time a person is arrested, through the courts process and linking in with the Prison Service and the probation and welfare service. In Northern Ireland, there is a comprehensive co-ordination of all the services which deal with crime. This is an issue we must consider more closely in the Republic.

In terms of tackling the issue of drugs, in which I have a particular interest, gardaí have excelled themselves and are well on their way to meeting their targets under the national drugs strategy. A 25% increase in seizures has been achieved this year and we hear constantly on radio and television of the seizures which are being made. When one considers that in some other countries seizures by police forces account for only one third of the drugs on the streets, the special drugs units are working extremely well. The drugs court is also operating quite well. The operation of these areas will be enhanced by the increase in Garda numbers.

I was bemused to hear Senator Ryan observe that politicians and others should not scaremonger on crime when members of his party indulged in scaremongering during the local elections by telling communities that their local Garda station would be closed when no such action was being considered.