Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

Many others also await evidence of the strength and commitment of the reassurances given by the Minister to this House on many occasions.

The 1997 programme for Government pledged that to enable the Garda to concentrate on crime control, a community warden service would be recruited by local authorities to reduce the workload of the Garda. This never happened. Perhaps many objectives are never achieved and are included in the programme for Government because they sound good when a party is producing its manifesto. However, there may be a role for local authorities in this regard, as expressed recently by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

There is great concern about crime in rural communities, as highlighted by the recent sad death of a gentleman in the west. People in rural areas are concerned about Garda activity and visibility. Another recent example involved the owner of a post office in County Limerick who was tied up by burglars and left in that condition for hours. These types of crimes are still happening.

I am never a knocker as I like to be constructive in politics and I hope the increase in the numbers are achieved over the two years. I want to see a more visible Garda presence so that members of rural communities, in particular, can feel safe in their homes. We shall wait in judgment on the success of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform in getting the financial allocation necessary to achieve these objectives. The Celtic tiger is purring again but not as strongly as it did in the past and the Minister will require a lot of funding to achieve many of the objectives that are being trumpeted from various quarters.