Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was somewhat disconcerted to read reports on the recent announcement of an intention to withdraw security services from banks and ATM cash-in-transit trips. Apparently, it follows new thinking on the part of the regulator, the Private Security Authority, PSA. It is especially unusual that this was decided and made public in the run up to Christmas. I am not suggesting for the moment that we need the Army on our streets and so on, but we have grown accustomed to the safety that such a service provides. I am sure that many lives have been saved over the years by the presence of armed Army officers and gardaí at the banks. Ironically, there have been two raids on ATMs in the past week, one in Ratoath and one in Raheny. The Garda and the PSNI have also signalled that there has been a significant increase in dissident republican activity with an eye to disrupting Christmas shopping. The Minister for Finance, who owns one of our banks almost in its entirety, should make a statement on the issue to the House. I understand that the banks always met the costs, which meant there was no burden on the State. I would like the decision to be reviewed and explained to us fully.

The holly is a most beautiful plant with which we like to adorn our halls and walls at Christmas. Unfortunately, it is also usually the victim of wholesale vandalism on the part of people who enter our forested areas and national parks with slash hooks and destroy entire trees instead of just taking twigs.

I am slow to encroach on Senator Paul Coghlan's well-established patch but I was delighted to read that the rangers in Killarney National Park gave twigs of holly to people free of charge in order to discourage the theft of holly. Unfortunately, we will see fellas on street corners all around the country selling big chunks of holly and the plant will never grow again.