I thank the Minister sincerely for being here. I have often stood in the Chamber and given out about the fact the senior Minister is not here so I should, as a matter of course, record my thanks to the Minister for taking this Topical Issue. The issue relates to the need to increase Garda numbers in my constituency of Dublin Fingal West. The reason we need increased numbers is historically we were low on Garda numbers and our population has increased while the number of gardaí serving the region has not. A number of issues are now putting strain and stress on the communities I represent. The Minister can imagine how it made people in my constituency feel when they opened the newspaper on 1 December 2018 and heard the joyous news from then Senator James Reilly that a final sign-off had been given on the works required at Rush Garda station and it was understood that the contractor should be on site in quarter 1 of 2019. The Senator said he was delighted the work would commence to refurbish the Garda station with contractors on site very quickly. He said he would press the Department to have the station manned and operational with adequate Garda resources in 2019. Here we are now and it is 2026. Rush Garda station is still, to all intents and purposes, closed and the population all around it has increased. We now have a petition. A young woman by the name of Ciara has started a community petition for the people of Lusk - Rush and Lusk are beside each other. She has said there are more than 1,000 signatures on that petition. She says she has lived in Lusk since 2004. Her children were born there and go to Lusk Community College. Lusk has quadrupled in size and the population is still increasing but there is no Garda station serving it so all the pressure is being put on Balbriggan Garda station. The Garda station in Rush was closed. It is now functioning as - I do not know what. When you look through the windows, all you see are boxes and boxes of files. There are never cars in the car park and I can tell the Minister for a red-hot fact there are no gardaí in it serving the people in the surrounding area who really need it. Lusk is the very same; there is no Garda station there. We have a problem because there are rising rates of antisocial behaviour and crime. My office is contacted weekly - sometimes more than that- by people saying they are having trouble contacting the guards. The Minister knows and I know the best deterrent against antisocial behaviour or any form of crime is a visible Garda presence and we do not have that in north County Dublin. More and more pressure is being put on Balbriggan Garda station and the numbers in the station are not sufficient for the 200 km radius it has to cover. The gardaí in the station do a fantastic job but are put to the pin of their collar trying to cover an ever-expanding area and ever-increasing population. The number of gardaí is not commensurate with the number of people in the area and most definitely is not keeping pace with the number of people living in Dublin Fingal West. We need Rush Garda station reopened. We need a Garda station to serve Lusk. We need Skerries Garda station back open properly, if the truth be told. We also need more gardaí for Balbriggan Garda station.

Sentiment score: 0.05

That is very welcome. I have a wee suggestion, if the Minister does not mind. It comes from the petition that Ciara has circulated. As I said, it has been signed by more than 1,000 people. What they are seeking is a formal assessment by the Department of justice and An Garda Síochána of the policing needs of the Rush–Lusk area. The Minister will understand that while the number of gardaí working in the Dublin metropolitan region is fine and big, I am talking about the men and women working out of Balbriggan and Skerries, where the numbers are not sufficient to cover the entire area they are in charge of. The petition is also seeking the provision of a permanent full-time Garda station to serve the community. I am more than happy to take the Minister up on his offer. I will absolutely engage with him, with his officials and his office because I want to see a visible garda presence. His former colleague, former Deputy Farrell, has said Rush Garda station's closure has damaged the local community, leaving it feeling significantly less safe and less secure. The Minister should not take my word for it; rather, he should take that of his former colleague in government. I can refer to it not just because I live in the local area but also because the people who contact my offices in Balbriggan and Rush tell me so. It is true that people want additional gardaí and that very often TDs call for them in the Dáil, but I am seeking additional gardaí, additional infrastructure and the reopening of the Rush Garda station. Indeed, I am also seeking a station to serve Lusk. I have information on population growth to back that up. It is not simply the case that I want more gardaí for my area simply because I know that it would be good. I have the statistics to back it up. I can show the Minister that there has been population growth. The increase in the number of gardaí has not matched that.

Sentiment score: 0.24