Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I concur with Senator Cummins's comments regarding the large-scale sports infrastructure fund. This is also an opportunity to start considering future capital projects to have those in train across the country.

I raise the issue of the new Garda divisions and the concerns I have in this regard relating to my area. Until recently, County Longford was joined with County Roscommon as a division. Now, as the Leader is aware, it is now a division including counties Longford, Roscommon and Mayo. It probably takes about two and a half hours to drive from Belmullet to just outside Rathowen in this new Garda division. County Westmeath will now be going into a division with County Meath. Legislation will come before the Oireachtas in the next few months which will set up local community safety partnerships, LCSPs. Trial models are already operating in Longford, Waterford city and the north inner city of Dublin. These LCSPs will be rolled out next year, and this concept is all about having a multiagency forum for policing in an area. This will mean the agencies in an area will be working together.

I will list the various agencies already operating in my home county. From a medical perspective, there is the regional hospital for Longford and Westmeath. Educationally, there is the Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board. Additionally, County Longford is joined with County Westmeath when it comes to rural transport services, court services and Tusla, as well as politically. We are now going to create a divide that will make it difficult for the partnerships to be successful. As I said, these partnerships are about having a multiagency strategy to support policing in our communities. The Garda Commissioner needs to look at this again. He has already made some changes to it but I do not think the current model is going to work in future for us in County Longford, or, indeed, in County Westmeath. If we want to make these partnerships successful, then we need to see where counties are already working together across various areas.