2026-04-16

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.

If the Minister indulges me for a moment, I will welcome all the former Members of the Icelandic Parliament who are in the Gallery. They are most welcome.

I thank Deputy O'Reilly for putting down this important Topical Issue. If I am available for Topical Issues in the justice, home affairs and migration area, I will do them. I am happy to be here to respond to the Deputy's query. It is repeatedly the case - and it is very fair - that Deputies want more gardaí in their communities and constituencies. That is a good sign. It shows the constituencies and people of Ireland have faith in and are supportive of An Garda Síochána. That is not universal throughout the world. In some places there can be a negative relationship between the police forces and the communities they police, but it is not so in Ireland. Dublin Fingal West is covered by the Dublin metropolitan region north division. It also covers Dublin Fingal East and parts of Dublin Bay North. At the end of February, the latest date for which published figures are available, there were 764 Garda members of all ranks assigned to the division, supported by 70 Garda staff and 23 Garda reservists. The allocation of gardaí represents an increase of 13% since the end of 2016, when there were 676 in the division. The Garda staff number has increased by almost 63% in the same period, from 43 assigned in 2016, which in turn has freed up more gardaí to undertake front-line policing duties. The request I get most of the time is for more gardaí in communities. As people will be aware, I have a policy to have high-visibility policing in our cities and towns and throughout the rest of the country. We have already been able to see that in Dublin, Cork and Limerick there has been a very noticeable increase in high-visibility policing. That is as a result of a policy of the Government that is being implemented by the Commissioner. It is extremely important that communities have visible policing. The presence of gardaí is very much dependent on there being a pipeline of reserves and recruits and resources available to the Commissioner. Last year, 619 gardaí attested from the Garda College to take up positions across the country, beginning a career of service to their communities and the people of Ireland. Another 167 new gardaí attested in February this year, bringing the number to 786. I look forward to the attestation of new gardaí in two weeks' time, on 1 May next. Seven probationer gardaí were assigned to Deputy O'Reilly's division in February and 39 probationers were assigned in 2025. Overall, since the reopening of the Garda College in 2015, 496 probationers have been assigned to Dublin metropolitan region north, which is almost 9% of all probationers attested since 2015. Just under 800 trainees entered the Garda College in 2025, which is the highest number since 2018. Recruitment is extremely important to ensure we get more gardaí into Deputy O'Reilly's constituency, Dublin Fingal West, and indeed throughout the country. We are seeing success in this regard at present. Deputy O'Reilly also raised the issue of Rush Garda station and how she would like to see it reopened. I cannot give her an update in respect of that at present. I am here to talk about the numbers but I will certainly engage with her in respect of those issues.

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.

Ciara's petition is probably trying to do what many other communities seek to do as well. In effect, she and the Deputy are looking for a formal assessment of the policing needs of the Rush area. I want the Deputy to know, however, that when the Commissioner sits down to decide where the new gardaí coming out of Templemore should go, he does it on the basis of a particular plan. In the past year, it has been for the purpose of achieving high-visibility policing, predominantly in the cities of Dublin, Cork and Limerick. However, he is now having new probationer gardaí put into suburban areas and rural areas as well. I suppose he has to decide on the basis of the needs of the country as a whole. We would all prefer it if the Commissioner put a significant number of recruits into our own constituencies, but he has to adopt a fair basis for all communities. He also has to take into account where the needs are. It is a complicated issue to determine where gardaí should be placed. As the Deputy will probably agree, there is no point in putting gardaí where they are not needed and where there are not high crime levels. Communities have to have a garda presence but there are areas where you need to focus gardaí, and that will be based on the Commissioner’s assessment as to where the needs are greatest. The Deputy has very eloquently advocated a permanent Garda station in Rush, in her area. What is more important to me is actually seeing gardaí out in the community. We have many Garda stations but it is not the stations that give people a sense of safety. Rather, it is the fact that there are gardaí on the streets or in the vicinity of the station. I will seek to prioritise the continued presence of gardaí in the community. People want them visible. I hear what the Deputy is saying about Rush Garda station. I will consider the matter and discuss it within my Department.