Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I neglected to say that the community gardaí are meeting the residents tonight and have been very responsive. It is a big factor that people do not see the Garda on the ground. It is pretty much a rural area. There has been a spate of burglaries. I commend the Government on the reopening of the Garda College. It is good that there are so many extra gardaí coming on stream. However, there is such a large population out there without a full-time garda deployed. The Minister of State might suggest to the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, that he speak to the Commissioner again about it. There was an article in a newspaper during the week stating that an extra 6,500 people are expected to be employed in that area shortly. It is expanding at a very fast rate. I would appreciate if the Minister of State could give me some commitment on that.