Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. The Minister referred in his remarks to the tragic loss of Lyra McKee. I have not had an opportunity to reflect on that since the return of the House so I take the opportunity to again convey my own personal sympathies and solidarity with Lyra's partner and her family and also those of my party. I knew Lyra McKee primarily through her journalistic writing and through the occasional engagement on social media, but I did once share a platform with her at a Féile an Phobail event in west Belfast a number of years ago. It was a talk-back discussion with young people from across the city. What struck me about Lyra McKee was that, as we now know was her nature, while we were there to answer questions she was as inquisitive as the young people in the audience. She asked them their views and it was clear that she was very enthusiastic about encouraging them to be active in their communities and within their own spheres. Given the Minister's reference, I wanted to take the opportunity to convey our sympathies to Lyra McKee's family.

As the Minister is aware, we have a difference of opinion on the legislation. I have outlined it every year since entering this House as the Sinn Féin spokesperson on justice in the Seanad. I say respectfully to the Minister, the prevalence and viciousness of gang-related violence in this State is one of the biggest challenges we collectively face. Not remotely enough is being done to come to terms with it. It has become a living nightmare for the communities who have to live with it. People are terrorised and have lost hope that it will come to an end. There is a climate of fear, violence, intimidation, drug running and other forms of criminality that goes along with such gangsterism. As a result, there has been a devastating impact on communities.

There have been six gang-related murders so far this year, with three in one week, and several more foiled by the work of the Garda. There were 77 homicides in 2018, 185 arrests for possession of firearms and 89 charges of discharging a firearm. Between 2016 and 2017 a total of 22 people died in gang-related killings. The response from the Government has been totally inadequate. It is still the case that the majority of Garda stations are either at or below their 2014 level. In real terms, Dublin has lost 512 gardaí since 2009. Prior to the recent reactions to crime, Coolock and Drogheda were among the stations that saw a reduction in Garda numbers. Since 2011, Coolock Garda station lost 14 full-time gardaí, while the local anti-drugs unit lost 13 of its 32 personnel. The problem has gone on and on and the violence continues to spiral out of control. More will die as it continues. More families will be bereaved and communities will continue to live in fear. That is not only my assessment, all of the Garda representative organisations, the Garda Representative Association, GRA, and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI, as well as recent Garda Commissioners, have stated repeatedly that An Garda Síochána is "decades" behind other police forces in terms of numbers, equipment, training and resources. Privately, GRA members have expressed their view that the Government has been complacent about the increase in gang crime. I was astonished at the decision not to take on the full complement of Garda recruits this year. If that is repeated next year, I question whether the Minister will reach his target of 15,000 sworn members of An Garda Síochána by 2021. In any event-----