Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

In the 20 years I have been in public life I have never been more frustrated as I have been this week. With others, I am trying to support the work of An Garda Síochána to protect the people of my home town, about which I care deeply. I have never witnessed such angst and frustration in the area. My phone has been hopping since Monday. I know of people who witnessed the event in a busy shopping area on Monday and they are absolutely traumatised.It is inevitable that retaliatory attacks and reprisals will take place. With the limited resources they have, gardaí in Drogheda have been working extremely hard to keep a lid on this violent feud. It is only a matter of time until an innocent victim is caught up in it and shot and until we have the first fatality of this feud. I have nothing but respect for the Minister of State and the work he does but he is not the Minister for Justice and Equality. That Minister should be here today to answer questions from me on behalf of the people I represent. It is deeply regrettable that he is not here. As I said earlier, I do not want to personalise this. The Minister, Deputy Flanagan, was happy to come to the barracks in Drogheda to speak to members of An Garda Síochána and advise them that resources would be made available. Those resources were only temporarily available; they were pulled. It is only now that the armed support unit is on the streets of Drogheda again. I fear that a lid cannot be kept on this any longer. We need resources in Drogheda now.