Our local gardaí are doing Trojan work and deserve the full backing of rural Ireland, including areas like west Cork. They are the backbone of community safety and they are out at all hours dealing with everything thrown at them, often with limited and stretched resources. They know their communities. That is their strength. That is how people keep safe, not just with legislation from Dublin. Let us be honest about this motion. We are again being asked to roll over what are meant to be temporary emergency powers. Year after year it is the same thing. That is not good enough. Of course, there are real threats of organised crime, which is a serious issue, but supporting the Garda is not about giving the State a blank cheque. It is about giving gardaí the resources, the numbers and the visibility they need on the ground. Strong community policing works. People seeing their local garda, knowing they are there - that is what makes a real difference. We will always stand up for our gardaí and the work they do, but I cannot support the ongoing extension of laws like this without proper reform and accountability. When I talk about gardaí, I talk about the lack of garda appointments made to west Cork. I think it has been zero in the past number of years, or there have been very few if any new gardaí into west Cork. That is a very unfair situation we find ourselves in because community policing is all about the number of gardaí in the community. I am a big believer that gardaí should live in the area in which they work, or as close as they can, because they get to know the people, they get to know who is right and who is wrong and they can nip crime in the bud. I have often said that. I see in my own area Garda Jonathan McCarthy in Ballydehob. He and his family live there and there is a very protective community there and care for the community. He is a Trojan garda. He knows when to be there and when not to be there, as such. I see also the Garda Youth Awards. I praise gardaí like Don Davis and Damian White and so many gardaí out there who are really pushing the boundaries and are there for their community and for their people. It is great for young people too to see that and to get an award at the Garda Youth Awards. I refer to Garda Brigid Hartnett and all those who are involved in that initiative. It really sends a very different type of message from that which we hear sometimes hear throughout the country that maybe the long hand of the law is the right way to deal with young people. Sometimes it is to praise them, work with them and be supportive of them, and that is what we need to do. There is definitely a lack of gardaí in west Cork. I am worried about Drimoleague Garda station and places like that which have gone unmanned for months and months because there is a complete lack of gardaí. The Garda cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip. When the appointments are made, no matter where it is, it must be done in a fair manner throughout the country. We cannot have one county like Dublin, which is a big county, with a lot of newly appointed gardaí but west Cork left without. That is something we need to reverse. I have said that to the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, when he has been in here. That has to be looked at going forward if we are to make sure that people are living in a protected and safe area. A fair distribution of the new gardaí when they are appointed should be spun out throughout Ireland, not just the capital.

Sentiment score: 0.15