Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In the past 48 hours there have been a number of muggings and an armed robbery within Dublin South-Central and its perimeters. There was one this morning. Fortunately, the cash box that was taken was empty and, more importantly, nobody was harmed. I am aware of the increasing levels of gardaí and the money that is being put into the justice area and observance, but at the same time there does appear to be some sort of epidemic of a pursuit of cash, whether that is from pensioners in rural communities or a woman as recently as yesterday being mugged and very seriously injured in a car park in Knocklyon.I am looking for us to have a debate to hear from the Minister on how that strategy will work its way out. We are putting an awful lot of money into policing. We have the new organisation of the districts and the recent legislation that has come through, but we still have pockets, certainly within Dublin South-Central, that are no-go areas at a particular time of day. I would, therefore, like us to have a debate in which we might explore that and hear from the Minister on local policing and security on our streets.