Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I too raise the "Prime Time" programme broadcast last night. When I left the House, I went home to watch it. I watched Sarah McInerney interview Niall Hodgins of the Garda Representative Association and it was an extraordinary interview. In his answers, Niall Hodgins informed all of us who were watching that, as my colleague has said, there was no plan. Garda members turned up simply because of WhatsApp messages being passed from garda to garda. He described it as chaos. I am sure that other colleagues in the House have, like me, seen the videos of Garda members being isolated and attacked again and again by a baying mob. It is simply not good enough that this was allowed to happen in the capital city.

In every justice debate in which I have taken part in this House since I was elected, I have raised with the various Ministers or Ministers of State of the day the issue of Garda resources and numbers in south Kildare. I have also heard colleagues from Dublin, in both this House and the Lower House, raise issues time and again relating to Dublin. All of this raises the question as to who is in charge. Who is providing the leadership the GRA spoke about last night and who is responsible for that leadership? Who can restore confidence among our gardaí and among the general public? The Commissioner and the justice Minister will appear before the justice committee today and tomorrow and we will have to ask questions. There is no doubt but that after the horrific events of last Thursday night, confidence in the security system of this country is at an all-time low. I hope we can get in the coming days answers to the questions the public and the members of the Garda deserve.

I have come across the following issue as a member of the cross-party autism committee. It relates to communication boards. They can play a very important part for those in the autistic community and for those with a number of other disabilities. Communication boards are invaluable tools for non-verbal individuals, offering a means to express thoughts, needs and desires. They comprise symbols, pictures or words arranged systematically on a grid or display, allowing users to point, gesture or use eye-tracking technology to communicate. I raise this today because two of my colleagues in County Kildare, Councillors Mark Leigh and Ciara Galvin, have been involved in introducing them in the county. A number of the boards have been installed in playgrounds in County Kildare over recent weeks and they have made a huge difference. I call for this to be replicated in each local authority, and not just in the number that exists in Kildare at the moment but throughout the county and the wider State. The feedback from parents who bring their children to playgrounds, when they see the communication board, is phenomenal, and I want to see it replicated throughout the State. I compliment Councillors Leigh and Galvin on bringing this forward in Kildare and I know other local authorities have been similarly involved. It can make and has made a difference and I look forward to seeing it replicated in each local authority.