Manus Boyle (Fine Gael)

I am very sorry for and pass on my condolences to the family of Sr. Stan. I also congratulate our new President, Catherine Connolly, on her election.

I wish to raise the serious issue of Garda staffing and the lack of essential resources in County Donegal. Several stations in Donegal are understaffed and under-resourced. In some cases, gardaí are forced to share patrol cars across multiple stations. Basic supplies of equipment to manage emergency scenes are not readily available, which compromises public safety. Gardaí are doing a great job under serious and increasingly difficult conditions. Last week, a lady passed away in a road accident quite close to my home. My brother, Councillor Michael Boyle, was one of the first on the scene. When he landed on the scene, in fairness, the local garda from Glenties came out but he had no patrol car, no signs to stop traffic and no beacons. He had to wait for a patrol car to come from Donegal town with all of the equipment because there was no one in the barracks in Glenties.

Since 2009, the population has increased but Garda numbers have really gone down in Donegal. It is time we addressed this. We have five gardaí to cover the whole of the Gaeltacht communities in Donegal. We really need more resources. Communities in Donegal feel abandoned. A garda cannot be got and the gardaí who are working are stretched. They are over the limit and do not have enough resources or equipment. It is time for action. Words are not good enough.The people of Donegal deserve better. Donegal is a very large Border county. We should try to get the Minister to come into the House to have a debate on Garda resources for Donegal.