I wish to share my time with Deputy McEllistrim.
Adjournment Debate. - Garda Deployment.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
The people of Lixnaw were disappointed last week when they heard of the transfer of Sergeant Neilius O'Sullivan from the village. This leaves one garda to police a large district. Sergeant O'Sullivan was transferred to Lixnaw in 1995 and immediately established a strong rapport with the local community, especially young people. He is highly regarded and respected by everyone. He is the chairman of the local community centre committee which provides activities for young people, including indoor soccer, basketball and other games, while also providing facilities for the St. Vincent de Paul which places special emphasis on care of the elderly. Sergeant O'Sullivan is also chairman of the community alert scheme, a selector on the Lixnaw under-21 hurling team which won the county championship last Sunday week, and he coaches a large number of youth basketball teams.
Before he came to the village there was concern about the level of juvenile delinquency and petty crime in the village. However, because of his involvement with young people in the village and his friendly relations with them, Lixnaw is one of the most peaceful villages in Ireland. The elderly feel secure in their homes and juvenile crime and vandalism are almost non-existent.
At a time when Lixnaw village is about to grow substantially with planning permission obtained or granted for more than 200 houses, surely the decision to transfer Sergeant O'Sullivan is a retrograde step. The decision to do so without replacing him appears to be in contradiction of the commitment given in the Fianna Fáil manifesto before the previous general election and in the programme for Government to community policing and the presence of gardaí in communities.
Over the years Lixnaw has lost its secondary school, creamery, railway station and school for special children and now the local people believe their Garda station is under threat. Their concern at losing it is because it is important for their security. If gardaí are needed in other districts, the Minister should direct the Commissioner to provide them. Lixnaw village cannot be penalised because of the shortage of gardaí in places, such as Tralee, which need them. I appeal to the Minister of State to convey my concerns to her colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and to appeal to him to make the necessary representations to the Commissioner to ensure the sergeant is left in place.
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me this opportunity. I wish to speak about the proposed reduction in personnel in the Garda station in Lixnaw, County Kerry. It had a larger Garda station many years ago and, as a result of the great efforts by the previous Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy O'Donoghue, the village still has a small barracks.
In 1998 under the Garda building programme a number of projects were completed, including a new station at Lixnaw which is a fine example of the type of building which will serve the force into this millennium. Garda facilities have also been significantly improved through a systematic programme of refurbishment of Garda stations. A sum of €22.6 million was allocated for capital projects in 2000 in addition to €8.6 million for maintenance. In County Kerry, along with Lixnaw, Garda stations in south Kerry in Ballinskelligs, Kenmare, Sneem and Waterville have also benefited from this programme.
The increased strength of the Garda is reflected in the numbers assigned to County Kerry. In 1997 the number stood at 233. In March 2001, 251 gardaí were working to combat crime in the county, an increase of some 8%.
The proposed reduction in the Garda presence in Lixnaw is an important issue for the people in north Kerry. If the village loses a garda, Garda presence there will be reduced from two to one. Two gardaí are needed there and should be kept there. It is what the people are entitled to. Why are the people of Lixnaw being deprived? I am aware of the problems of rural areas because I am from such an area. The status quo should be maintained in the village.
Lixnaw serves one of the largest parishes in County Kerry and the population is increasing. A new county council housing estate of 60 houses will be built there with eight beginning soon. I understand a private development is in the pipeline. This suggests the area is growing. Will it be the norm throughout the country for growing areas to have their Garda presence reduced? I understood we were going to increase Garda numbers in areas rather than reduce them.
The village is under a great deal of pressure to survive but the Government has shown its commitment to the people of Lixnaw before. I will do everything within my power as Fianna Fáil TD for Kerry North to preserve and maintain all public resources in Lixnaw.
On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform I welcome this opportunity to set out for the benefit of the House the current staffing arrangements of the Garda Síochána.
The House will be aware that the Minister is responsible for the overall provision of resources to the Garda. He will continue to ensure that the force has adequate resources to tackle crime. The Government has substantially increased the number of gardaí in recent years from 10,800 in 1997 to a current strength of approximately 11,860 members, and this is set to increase in the near future to 12,200 – an historic high.
The House will also be aware that the agreed programme for Government provides for a further increase in the strength of the force of 2,000, and this will be done within the resources available. The Government has also increased the approved number of members at sergeant rank which has risen from 1,868 in 1997 to the current figure of 1,971, an increase of more than 100.
Regarding the specific matter at hand, the House will appreciate that the Commissioner is vested under section 8 of the Police Forces Amalgamation Act, 1925, with the general direction and control of the force, and the detailed allocation of personnel and resources to individual areas is a matter in the first instance for the Garda authorities. It would not be appropriate for the Minister to get involved in the day to day management of the force.
The Minister has been informed by the Garda authorities that the sergeant at Lixnaw Garda station is due to transfer to Ardfert Garda station on 24 October 2002. The Minister understands that this is a distance of less than ten miles. The Minister has further been informed that the transfer is a Garda operational matter taking into consideration the overall policing needs of the Listowel district.
The Dáil adjourned at 9.20 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 24 October 2002.