Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Since the Minister is here, I just want to make the point I made in my Second Stage contribution and echo the comments of Senator Wall. In this House, we should applaud the members of An Garda Síochána who were on the front line during Covid and performed heroically on behalf of all of us. The Upper House of the Oireachtas should acknowledge that.

The Minister will know full well what I am going to say next. It is now incumbent on An Garda Síochána, working with the Department of Justice, to have a very high level of Garda visibility on our streets, especially in our capital city and Cork city. I spoke earlier about the rise of antisocial behaviour, the incidence of public order offences and violence against people. It is important that the Government and Members of the Upper House stand with members of An Garda Síochána. I remember the joint policing committee when I was in Cork City Council. We need to see more gardaí on the street. It is critical. The level of antisocial behaviour in parts of Cork and Dublin is unacceptable. We can blame it on a myriad of factors and put forward excuses, but we need a strong Garda presence on our streets. I realise I am digressing a little but I believe this is important. On Monday, when I go to my joint policing committee meeting, the rise of antisocial behaviour will take up a significant proportion of it, as will the need for more gardaí.To be fair to the Minister, she has responded in Dublin and Cork. We need to see high-profile policing and, dare I say it, our courts need to take action on the matter as well. I acknowledge we cannot discuss sentencing and so on here today, but it is important to put that on the record of the House.