David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I call for a debate on rural Ireland and the many issues facing communities there and facing people living in towns, villages and hinterlands throughout the State because of the loss of services. As the Leader lives in a constituency with a big rural base, he is aware of many of the issues which pertain. We can all give examples of services being lost in rural communities. An example of this today is that more than 100 Garda stations will be closed, the majority of which are in rural communities. There will be some impact on urban areas but rural communities will disproportionately suffer as a consequence of the stations being lost. The selling of Coillte and State assets has been raised and this will also have an impact on rural communities. We know of the lack of funding for local government and issues with regard to funding roads and other issues important for people living in rural communities. Given the real sense of isolation people living in these communities increasingly feel, these issues deserve and merit a genuine discussion in the House to reflect them and come up with solutions to some of the problems.

A Fianna Fáil Senator stated it would be intolerable for the decision to close Garda stations to be made by civil servants, as he put it. The reality is that the decision was made by the previous Government when it negotiated the four-year national recovery plan. This plan, which Fianna Fáil negotiated with the troika, allowed for the reduction in Garda numbers from 14,500 in 2010 to 13,500 and to 13,000 in 2014, so it was part of negotiating the reduction in Garda numbers. It is being implemented by the current Government. I look forward to the Private Members' motion to be tabled by Fianna Fáil next week, but let us hope it is an honest debate about where parties stand on these issues. Let us also have an honest discussion about how we can support these communities in the difficult times they face and ensure they have the resources to be able to live the lives they want to live.