Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I believe we are pushing an open door with the Minister because I heard him recently talking about what the Garda Síochána should be and how inclusive it should be, etc. Therefore, I hope he takes these remarks on board.

The amendment may be too confining by mentioning only RAPID areas. There are many disadvantaged areas in my city that are not included under RAPID. While we may be a little too specific, the message we want to get across is that a large section of Garda recruits should come from areas deemed disadvantaged. "Disadvantaged" is not a word I like to use but it is a fact of life with regard to some areas of Dublin and throughout the country.

The idea of the amendment is similar to the argument made in the Patten report in Northern Ireland in respect of increasing the number of Roman Catholics in the police force in order to have representatives from all sections of the community. I accept the point made by Senator Jim Walsh that having a garda in an area, or commissioning a garda from an area, gives some respect to the position. It would get people talking and improve respect for the police force in many areas.

It is sad that in many areas respect for gardaí has gone. Anything we can do to raise the profile of gardaí and improve their significance in such areas is of paramount importance and will help restore a sense of community to the 99% of law-abiding people in estates. It is usually the 1% who give a bad name to many of these areas and recruiting gardaí from such areas would help the situation.