Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)

I mention a particular issue, namely, a report that was published earlier today which ranks Roscommon as the highest tallied scorer, making it statistically the safest place in Ireland to raise a family in 2025. Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Donegal, Monaghan, Clare, Kilkenny, Longford and Galway all follow in the top ten. This is something that I have personally known about for years and something I have promoted for years, which is all the positive things we have in Roscommon. On the other side, however, when it comes to renewing my car and house insurance every year, I am hit with rising costs. I am told it is because of where I am living and that there are all of these impacts affecting my home and car insurance. Great work has been done by this Government in the area of insurance reform. I would like to see some of these reports that are published annually being used to help bring down the cost of people’s insurance. I call for a debate on that, if we get the chance.

Reports like this should not be used as a stick to prevent counties like Roscommon and Longford from getting additional gardaí. We have one of the oldest populations in the country. Although we have a low crime rate, those people like to see feet on the ground and someone on the street. They like to know there is someone in the local station at the end of the phone when they make that call. I ask for a debate with the Minister with regard to the allocation of gardaí and the figures and reports people are using for that particular allocation.