Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Minister of State to inform the Minister of the details of the situation in County Meath. The Garda division based in Ashbourne covers the area from the Kilcock bridge on the Meath-Kildare border up to the outskirts of Drogheda, across to Laytown, including Stamullen and Duleek and almost over to Navan and including the Rathfeigh area. It also includes the busy N2 road which is also the scene of much crime. If there is a burglary or an incident down in Dunboyne, the gardaí from Laytown are driving down there to try to catch the criminals. The other night a shop was robbed in Dunshaughlin. The same people then drove up to Duleek. It seems to me that the gardaí are chasing around the place looking for these criminals. They are doing their very best and I fully support them but they need more support. It is not acceptable that a garda from Laytown must drive to Dunboyne. One would not ask a garda from Blanchardstown to drive to Drogheda but it is exactly the same distance. This situation needs to change.

There was a separate Garda division for east Meath to cover just Laytown, Duleek and Stamullen but this division was abolished under Commissioner Callinan when this Government came into office. This has left us in a hole because the east Meath area and in particular, Duleek, has not been able to fight for its own resources within the Garda Síochána. The inclusion of Ashbourne, Dunshaughlin, Dunboyne and Laytown, in one area, is a disaster and this is being proven by the crime figures.