Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to have an opportunity to speak on this important motion. This is a burning issue up and down the country, particularly in many rural areas but also in cities and other urban areas. Threats to the lives of members of the Garda Síochána and members of the general public are associated with the ongoing phenomenon of gangland criminality. Old people in the part of the country where I come from are living in a state of fear. Some people have told me at constituency clinics that they are afraid to go to the bingo as a result of the lack of policing and the lack of resources available to the Garda. I know the Minister spoke on this issue on local radio in County Donegal. I did not hear the interview but I know that it was obvious that he had not been briefed on the point of view of local gardaí. Members of the force in County Donegal and other western counties have made it clear that there is a complete breakdown between the Minister's version of what is happening at national level and what is actually happening on the ground.

The Minister has every right to come in and rebut the motion by saying the troika brought in certain proposals which had to be adhered to. If the troika agreement that was signed up to was so ring-fenced and so hard and fast, why was the Minister in a position to obtain additional resources? Why was Fianna Fáil in a position to sit down with the troika team over numerous months and be told that decisions on how the budgetary adjustment should be achieved were matters for the Government of the State? We have been told that every Minister in the Government is responsible for deciding how the budgetary arithmetic can best be achieved, for example by making changes to staffing levels or to capital or current expenditure.

It is not right to blame those who are funding us. It is a matter for the Government to decide on how the resources are expended. It is very easy to blame the troika. I often hear that the troika is to blame or Fianna Fáil is to blame whereas the only people not to blame, it would appear, are the members of the current Government. Perhaps the GRA, the unions and everyone else is wrong, and perhaps the only people who are actually right are Government Ministers. I do not subscribe to that.

I am very disappointed with the resources being made available to rank and file gardaí. I would agree with much of what has been said by most Senators, including Senator Whelan. However, the ordinary gardaí who speak to us as public representatives have a right to do so. They may not do it in a public forum but they have every right to speak to us or to express their opinions through their own organisation. The opinion that is coming forward is one of discontent, disquiet and unease at the level of resources being made available.

I come from a county where two members of the Garda Síochána lost their lives while undertaking their duties - the late Garda Robert McCallion and Garda Gary McLoughlin, of whom the Minister is well aware. My county has witnessed a spate of crime, in particular burglaries on elderly members of the community, and in particular since last October up to the end of January, where people as old as 96 were targeted and burgled in their homes. There are people living in a state of fear. This is the wrong time to close down Garda stations. We can say we are in a new and modern age but how can we expect the elderly population, who very often live alone, to subscribe to the new modern technology. How can we expect stations or community halls to be used for two hours a day or two hours a week? Are we telling the criminals only to commit the crimes during the two hours of those days or that week? It is a crazy situation. We are leaving vast areas without a presence.

For example, Glencolmcille Garda station was opened in the 1920s and closed last week. That Garda station had a point of presence in the locality. The population in that area more than doubles during the summer yet we are now leaving it without a Garda station. People can argue that resources are being channelled in a different way but that does not appear to be happening on the ground in regard to the additional hours. There is a lack of resources in terms of Garda stations.

I am not here to take lectures from Sinn Féin in regard to the activities and resources of An Garda Síochána over the last 30 years in the Border region. I lived in Northern Ireland for longer than perhaps any other Member of the House and I saw first-hand what was occurring there, on both sides and on all sides. The Border is left open at present.