I commend Deputy Kelly on this Labour Party motion. I believe it is the first on policing in the lifetime of this Dáil. It reflects our long-standing interest in criminal justice, including my personal interest in criminal justice, and our concern to ensure a robust policing system for our country. I want to pay tribute, as did the Minister, to the vital work of gardaí across our communities and the country and in my constituency and that of the Minister. I welcome the high-visibility policing plan in Dublin city centre, which has made an enormous difference. However, the Government's countermotion is deeply disappointing because it fails to acknowledge the reality, which is that serious structural issues in An Garda Síochána need addressing. Instead of massaging the numbers upwards, as the Minister has done, and providing such a poor response with barely any mention of domestic violence, community policing or the drastic failure to increase roads policing, the Minister has given us a somewhat idealistic countermotion that does not address the serious omissions. As the Minister knows, communities across the country are crying out for higher visibility community policing. Community policing needs serious investment. We need to ensure that community gardaí are not relegated but are instead seen as vital to the task of policing across the country. On domestic violence, our motion calls for a clear timeline for the roll-out of domestic violence co-ordination teams across every region. We know there is an epidemic of violence against women at present. We see how many murders are linked to domestic violence, yet Women's Aid has found that nearly half of women who go to the Garda for help in domestic violence situations find the response unhelpful. That is deeply concerning. I have submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister to establish the number of complaints made to Fiosrú since the establishment of a new unit to tackle complaints against gardaí regarding allegations of sexual and domestic abuse. I have not seen any reporting in the annual reports of GSOC or Fiosrú on this. I would welcome a response. We have the courageous example of Margaret Loftus, who came forward to describe her experience of how gardaí closed ranks against her when she made allegations, which were absolutely justified, that her garda partner had been violent towards her. This shows the systemic problems in An Garda Síochána. This is the sort of example the Minister needs to take seriously in seeking to rebuild trust among communities in the Garda in respect of domestic violence, community policing, road safety and so much more. Our motion seeks to present to the Government constructive solutions to tackle those systemic issues and ensure that trust is rebuilt in communities and that An Garda Síochána can operate effectively and with community buy-in. I urge the Minister not to oppose our motion.

Sentiment score: -0.03