Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I seek a cross-party debate on the future of Cork Airport. My colleague in the Dáil, Deputy Michael McGrath, has outlined that Cork Airport business has contracted rapidly in recent years to a point where its future viability is at risk. The number of passengers is declining annually and crisis point has been reached. I met representatives of Cork Chamber of Commerce, who want an all-party consensus approach to dealing with the issue. We deserve a debate on this, before the Easter recess if possible. I, too, would like to add my voice to that of Senator Thomas Byrne on the Garda issue and the prisoner escape. This is not a knee-jerk political reaction. I remind the House that yesterday the Taoiseach, maybe inadvertently but certainly in throwaway jocose remarks, said there was no issue with Garda resources. The prisoner who escaped had been flagged as a flight risk. On four separate occasions the prison officers were denied an armed Garda security arrangement.

Yesterday at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, I listened and was astounded by what a lady from the north-east inner city had to say. She said, in a debate on gangland crime, that because of the closure of a Garda station and a lack of resources, the drug problem was spiralling out of control in the city. She had no axe to grind politically. The problem was mainly due to Garda resources. We are coming to a stage in the country where too few gardaí will be available to us. I do not refer to gardaí with all the buttons, but to those who patrol our streets. The situation is at a crisis. A few recruits came from Templemore recently. We need a debate to reassure the public about Garda resources.

If the Taoiseach's remarks yesterday were unfounded, which I think they were, this is a very serious issue. Everybody in the city knows that gangland crime, murder of any description and the prisoner escaping are the result of a lack of resources. It is appropriate for the Opposition to look for a debate on the issue. The Minister should come before the House today. It is a very serious issue. Two prison officers were seriously injured. We cannot allow that to continue. We must address the situation. Our raising this issue is not a political gimmick. It is a serious matter of the most urgent concern which imposes on us an obligation to raise such issues in the House.