Yesterday, everyone here in the Dáil expressed sympathies on the horrific and senseless death of Grace Lynch. I raised with the Taoiseach his Government's persistent failure to keep communities safe. So many communities across the city of Dublin and the country are tormented by persistent antisocial behaviour by those who feel they can do whatever they want whenever they want and who intimidate and harass people every single day. Ask people from these communities and they will tell you that they simply do not have enough gardaí in their communities, on their streets and walking the beat. There are not enough gardaí to provide a strong, consistent, visible deterrent and a quick policing response to those who are quite literally terrifying communities 24-7. Last night, I was at a meeting in my own constituency in the north inner city with residents of Blessington Street square and the surrounding areas. The Garda was there, as was Dublin City Council. This is a community of the finest people you could ever meet. They really look out for each other, care about their neighbourhood and want it to be a safe place to live but that is not the case. Last night's meeting was called because these people's lives are being made a misery. Every day, they are faced with open drug dealing and drug taking in front of their homes and constant low-level criminality and antisocial behaviour. It is not just people's homes. Local businesses are also under huge pressure just to stay open. There is a persistent atmosphere of intimidation and danger. This community has been robbed of its right to safety. The single biggest ask last night was for more gardaí on the street in the community. Gardaí in the area, by the way, are doing their very best but we simply do not have enough of them. The result is that those engaged in antisocial and criminal behaviour, drug dealing and drug taking have free rein to do whatever they want. This is not the experience of just one community, although they are having a particularly hard time of it. This scourge of antisocial behaviour and the lack of gardaí to respond is something that communities everywhere will know all too well. At this time, when communities are crying out for stronger, more visible policing, it is frankly unbelievable to me that gardaí who will be graduating next week will be prevented from starting their work. Why? Their Garda vetting has not been completed. My understanding is that up to 20 gardaí from the class graduating next week will be prevented from getting onto the streets because of this problem - that is, gardaí who are trained, qualified and ready to go, stopped from getting to work because the vetting process is not fit for purpose. You could not make this up. The Garda vetting review was set up four years ago. It submitted its recommendations to the Minister for justice and, even though the Minister accepts there is a problem, he has failed to solve it. How many newly graduating gardaí will be prevented from starting work because their Garda vetting is incomplete? My information is that it is up to 20 from next week's graduating class. Can the Taoiseach tell me if there are more? Can he explain to every community crying out for greater Garda visibility-----

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-----how it is that we are in this situation? Can he give an explanation of that?

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Therefore, there is no firm, robust response to anti-social behaviour. That is the stuff of fiction from the Taoiseach. There is not. Ask anybody anywhere. Ask them in Dublin's north inner city; ask them in communities across the country. This scourge goes unchallenged. Communities are telling us loudly and clearly that one of the ingredients to actually get a proper response is high visibility out on the streets and across the community but that is not happening, and it is not happening because the numbers are not there. I asked the Taoiseach a question about Garda vetting and the fact that up to 20 in a given class of gardaí will be prevented from starting their duties because of an internal Garda process. The Minister, at the committee yesterday, confirmed that was the case.

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I am asking the Taoiseach to be very clear and confirm for me what the numbers are.

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How many gardaí are prevented from graduating because of a delay in internal Garda vetting? I would like an answer to that please.

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It is on the record.

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He is the Chair of the committee.

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We did not get a response.

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That does not pay the bills.

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