My father was a Garda, as were my grandfather and my great-grandfather. I will not be supporting the motion, not because I do not think there are real issues but because I believe they need to be looked at by An Garda Síochána itself and I believe a lot of good things have happened in An Garda Síochána since the formation of this Government. I acknowledge the gardaí themselves; the men and women who put themselves on the line day in, day out. The vast majority of gardaí are dedicated professionals who are deeply committed to the communities they serve. As other Deputies have mentioned, they need more support. Support has been growing but we need to do it faster. I know from speaking to gardaí and members of the public in Dublin Bay North that there is a clear imbalance between areas in north Dublin and other parts of the city. With the recent announcements of extra gardaí, people in my constituency can see it and would love to feel it. We would love to see more gardaí on the beat but to get more gardaí, we need more people to apply for the job. We need more support for all critical workers, for example by exploring housing supports, rental assistance or something similar to what has been done for public servants in London. If we brought in essential workers such as teachers, gardaí and nurses and gave them financial supports, particularly at the beginning of their career, it would help. Outside the Dáil today, we see another group of essential workers - Northside Home Care Services - on strike. They do not have pay parity and that needs to be looked at as well. If we do not address this, we will see more struggles with recruitment, retention and building trust in the community. There are issues and gaps but we need targeted investments, a fair allocation of resources and practical supports for An Garda Síochána. I commend An Garda Síochána on its work across communities in Dublin Bay North over the weekend of St. Patrick's Day. Its work involving all the parades was brilliant and I thank it for that.

Sentiment score: 0.42