Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I join my colleagues across the political spectrum in welcoming the announcement that BAM has been awarded the long-awaited contract for the Athy distributor road. My home town has been waiting a long time for this announcement. It is great news and has been widely welcomed by the people of Athy. All we want now is to see the diggers on the ground - the sooner, the better. I also support colleagues in regard to the construction of a second bridge in Newbridge, which is essential for the growth of the town.

I wish to raise two issues with the Leader. The first is the lack of gardaí in the south Kildare area, which causes problems both for morale in the force and in the interactions with the Garda stations in our communities. We all welcome the allocation of an additional 800 gardaí, as announced in the budget, however, the communities in Kildare South want to see the gardaí on the beat, on their streets and in their communities. They want to hear a local Garda on the phone when they ring their local station, rather than being transferred to a station in another town. It is safe to say that the gardaí themselves want to ensure that their units are at full capacity and are not left without the adequate cover to perform their duties.

In Athy Garda station, I am told we have 11 regular gardaí who are trying to service four units. Each unit should have a minimum of five regular gardaí, however, Athy station has only 11 and is, therefore, short nine gardaí in these units, at a minimum. Historically, and for some reason it has never been explained, the number of gardaí per head of population in Kildare South has always been among the lowest in the State. This must change given the expanding population in the towns of Newbridge, Kildare, Athy, Rathangan and Monasterevin. Each of these towns has a growing population and needs additional gardaí. Will the Leader arrange a discussion with the Minister for Justice on policing and Garda numbers?

The second item I wish to raise is an issue I have previously raised with the Leader. It is the urgent need to record the location of all automated external defibrillator, AED, lifesaving devices, for which many communities around the country have fundraised. There are some wonderful initiatives in place around the country, such as in Enniscorthy and in Laois where they have developed apps that show the exact location of these defibrillators. During a Commencement matter debate, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Frankie Feighan, informed me that I had given him the chance to speak about the exceptional work carried out by those in these communities and that he expected "that the funding provided by the Government in 2021 will result in real progress in the development of an AED register, and the HSE is already making progress on some of the practical elements that need to be [done] in that regard." However, when following up on this progress, my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, received the following reply from the Minister of Health this week, four months on:

The location, maintenance and upkeep of these devices is a matter for the supplying organisations. The HSE is not responsible for the supply or upkeep of AEDs. As such, an AED register would not be within the scope of the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy.

I know the Leader has supported the tremendous work of first responders in this country and the wonderful groups who fundraise in their communities to provide these AEDs. There is something seriously wrong here and I would appreciate it if she would follow up with the Minister, as this is an essential national life-saving service.