Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sure all of us will share the concern of the Minister for Justice and Equality about the fact that already this year there have been eight violent deaths in this country. That is a matter of great concern, and my sympathies and that of my group go to the families of those people who were brutally murdered. It points to an issue I have raised regularly with regard to resourcing of the Garda Síochána. I have welcomed the reopening of recruitment for 300 places in the Garda but gardaí across the country, and certainly in the city of Dublin, will tell one that they are operating with one hand tied behind their back. They simply do not have the resources to carry out the work required of them. It is a great frustration to members of the force who are putting their lives on the line to keep our citizens safe.

I further reference the case of the poor 68 year old gentleman in County Clare who cycled all night to check himself into a nursing home in Ennis because he had been robbed twice in the space of five days. I am not saying any police force can police every town and village in the country but we all know the gardaí are under-resourced. They do not have enough patrol cars and they do not have enough gardaí to fill their units. I call on the Leader again, as I have done on a regular basis, to invite the Minister, Deputy Shatter, to come to the House for a debate on policing in Ireland and to allow ideas be put to the Minister. I have many ideas on how the situation could be improved because 300 new gardaí will not do the job, although it is a start. This is an issue of great concern to me and I am sure to all colleagues across the House.

I raise the issue of our accident and emergency services. I do not know if the Leader got a date from the Minister, Deputy Reilly, as to when he will come into the House to debate the detail of the Health Service Executive action plan and service plan but most Members should have received a copy from the Irish Emergency Medicine Trainees Association, which is co-signed by over 30 doctors who specialise in emergency medicine. They are raising major concerns with the HSE and state that "current ED conditions are unequivocally dangerous for patients". That is just one of the many criticisms they make. I referenced a case last week in Beaumont Hospital in my area where a 70 year old man who was called in for a diabetes check ended up spending two nights not on a trolley but on a chair. As of last week over 341 patients have been on trolleys in accident and emergency departments. That is happening while the Minister, Deputy Reilly, continues to talk about how well the special delivery unit is operating.

None of us wants to see people going into hospital and spending two nights sitting on a plastic chair. This man was 70 years of age. It is important to have a debate and hear directly from the Minister about what he and his Department are doing to try to alleviate these problems. Both of these issues are important. Will the Leader schedule those debates in early course?