Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

That is clearly not the case, and I will presently outline why. It makes eminently good sense that the Houses of the Oireachtas, the National Gallery and the National Museum be secured by private personnel. There are about 100 Garda posts involved, which necessitate approximately 500 gardaí being deployed in what are described as static protection duties. If we had 500 gardaí walking the streets of Dublin today, I can assure Senators that they would be much better employed in guaranteeing the security of the people and the State than in their current positions. That is the essence of this proposal, which makes eminently good sense. I reject out of hand the misguided views of Senator Cummins in particular.