John Kelly (Labour) | Oireachtas source

If the quality of water supplied can be improved, as a user, I would save money on bottled water which I have to buy in the supermarket, week in, week out. The quality of water supplied is so poor we cannot even use it to make a cup of tea.

It is very important that people are reassured during the day and, more importantly, at night. It is also important that gardaí are in a position to increase their local knowledge through interfacing with the community and developing good relationships which, in turn, leads to crime prevention.

At the moment, there is no doubt that many parts of rural Ireland are soft targets for roaming gangs who know that Garda resources are stretched to the limit and that the response time is inadequate. Such gangs often set up decoys to distract the gardaí. They draw the patrol car to one area while they carry out their dirty deeds elsewhere and rain terror down on elderly people, in particular, living in isolated areas.

Like Senator Landy, I commend the work of Neighbourhood Watch and Community Alert schemes throughout the country. They serve a useful purpose as I know well from my own area - the schemes in Timahoe and Ratheniska work very well and are a source of comfort to people. I must also commend the gardaí who were involved in setting up such schemes, many of whom are now retired. However, they must be underpinned by an adequate Garda response time, sufficient Garda resources and ongoing liaison with gardaí on the ground because signage on the side of the road saying "Community Alert Area" is not enough.

I accept that we all have a collective responsibility in this area. Perhaps schemes and initiatives could be put in place that have worked well in the UK and other areas, where people come together to support the police in their work. I do not want to be alarmist but it has been mentioned to me on more than one occasion that if we do not put policies in place that restore Garda visibility and Garda patrols in our towns and villages, it will lead to people taking the law into their own hands, which I do not condone or support. We will see an upsurge in vigilantism in some parts of the country with people believing they must take the law into their own hands to protect their communities. I ask the Minister of State to take these points on board and relay them to the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter.