I thank my colleague, Deputy Alan Kelly, for bringing this extremely important motion forward. I start by acknowledging the gardaí on the ground, particularly in my own area, who do extraordinary work in very difficult circumstances. They deal daily with antisocial behaviour, drug intimidation, thefts, public disorder and repeat offenders, and they are doing so often with limited numbers, limited resources and increasing pressure. We need to be honest about every situation that is facing An Garda Síochána. Recruitment and retention are serious problems. We are losing experienced gardaí faster than we are replacing them and morale in many stations is not where it should be. Many gardaí feel overstretched, frustrated and, in some cases, abandoned by a system that is not working. We also need to talk about antisocial behaviour and repeat offenders. Gardaí are arresting the same individuals over and over again. We regularly see people before the courts with 100, 200 or even 300 previous convictions and yet they are back on the streets within days. That is simply not good enough. It is not fair on victims, it is not fair on our communities, and it is certainly not fair on the ordinary member of An Garda Síochána who arrests someone on a Monday morning and could be dealing with the same person again by the weekend. Our court and sentencing structures must support law enforcement and protect the public, and supports must be put in place to keep people out of crime. We are also seeing far more young people becoming involved in crime. Our juvenile liaison officers can only do so much. Funding must be provided to this specific area so that we see far fewer young people being dragged into crime which they never had any intention of being part of in the first place. If proper supports, opportunities and activities were provided effectively, particularly in poorer socioeconomic areas, we would see far fewer younger people becoming involved in the crime in the first place. Prevention must be taken as seriously as enforcement. I wish to raise the issue I previously put to the former Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, regarding the stay of a chief superintendent and his wife in a five star Dublin hotel during the visit of the former US President, Joe Biden. I did not receive what I consider to be a satisfactory answer on this. As a member of the public accounts committee, where I first raised the issue, I have now requested the committee write to the Commissioner to outline the findings of this investigation, to explain how thorough that investigation was, and, importantly, to establish where the money for these hotel stays came from. Public money must be accounted for and there must always be transparency and accountability, particularly in An Garda Síochána. In conclusion, gardaí are doing their job but the system is not always doing its job for them. We need more gardaí, better retention, stronger morale, proper resources, youth intervention funding, and a justice system that supports gardaí and protects communities. Until the Minister addresses these issues properly, he is asking gardaí to do an increasingly difficult job with one hand tied behind their back.

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