Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Following on from the remarks by Senator Ó Ríordáin, this has been a very bad year publicity-wise for An Garda Síochána with the whistleblower saga, the tribunals, the penalty points, etc. It is important at the end of the year that we, as legislators, declare again our full support and admiration for the work being done by An Garda Síochána to keep us and the citizens of this country safe. This is an issue which has been raised by the Leader and by many other Senators, particularly on my side of the House by Senators Leyden and Gallagher.

We had a pleasant ceremony at the weekend where a number of gardaí were singled out for the special award of the Scott medal for bravery. I am sure Senators followed it in the newspaper. Indeed, the Cathaoirleach must be proud that a close relation of his was a recipient of one of the Scott medals for bravery. There was an interview with a garda who had the trauma of having a gun pointed at her head after facing down armed gunmen already and she stated significantly that she realised that the Garda uniform is not a shield. Of course, it is not. Gardaí are unarmed, but their shield is the support and respect that they enjoy from the ordinary people. We are all aware of heroism and bravery by the ordinary garda on the street.Anyone who has been in these Houses for any length of time, and living in Dublin, will have seen it for themselves. I have often witnessed gardaí facing down groups of violent young men on the streets, merely through their presence, calmness and coolness. We know they are now faced with gun crime on the widest scale seen since the Provisional IRA decided it was in the wrong. Only for this the Garda would face a double attack, but the attack now is organised as opposed to political crime. I want to reaffirm our support for the Garda, many members of whom have paid the ultimate sacrifice, including my neighbour, the late Jerry McCabe. We know what happened to him. It is timely to restate our support when the Garda is under pressure from the media morning, noon and night.