Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

This country again needs a policy of zero tolerance. I welcome the Minister's comments on rolling out CCTV in major towns. I will, however, remind him that the roll-out of CCTV in Athlone was first mooted in 1998. Last year, the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell, said Athlone would have it in several weeks. We are still waiting. Recently, there have been serious assaults on women in the Athlone area. The Garda would have been better resourced if it had the use of CCTV in these cases. It is not good enough to claim the Garda is properly resourced when it is not.

I take exception to the removal of gardaí based in rural areas. People in rural areas deserve to have a Garda presence just as much as those in urban areas. It is a matter of extra community gardaí being deployed on the streets and in rural areas.