Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise this morning the proposal of the Garda Commissioner to reconstruct Garda divisions. This is an issue that is close to my heart. In my part of the world, this would mean joining together the divisions in west and north Cork. The west Cork vision is based in Bandon and the north Cork division is based in Fermoy. It is proposed to merge the two divisions and base the new division in Macroom. Geographically, this will mean one Garda division will cover a coastline of approximately 1,100 km. As the Chair would know better than I would, the Garda Commissioner is proposing to have an area stretching from Allihies to Youghal in one Garda division. This is an enormous tract of land. Dealing with issues on our coastline depletes our resources. Drugs, in particular, are a serious issue. Major seizures include 1.5 tonnes of drugs found off Mizen in 2014 and six tonnes of drugs found in Courtmacsherry in 2009. How could one Garda division police such a long coastline? This proposal may work in theory but it does not make sense practically given that the coastline the new division would cover is 1,000 km in length. I propose a debate on this issue with the Minister for Justice and Equality because policing our coastline is a major issue for society. How can we have a policy of having one Garda division cover such a huge tract of country? Drugs is a major issue and we need to have a debate on and how we effectively manage the problem.