As the House was adjourning on last Thursday evening, the Minister, in replying to a suggestion which I had thrown out in regard to parking places, stated that that particular question did not come within his Vote. That statement, of course, is technically correct. I am not going to dispute that fact but I do want to point out to the Minister that I made that suggestion and that numerous Deputies in this House made similar suggestions for the specific purpose of strengthening the Minister's hands with regard to this question which is causing a tremendous amount of consideration to those motorists and businessmen who have to take their cars down the city in the course of the day. There is no question of embarrassing the Minister in any respect, and I relate that suggestion to the fact that the Garda Síochána are responsible for the enforcement of the regulations in respect to the parking of motor cars within the restricted areas of the city, and that has become a very difficult question. I know that the enforcement of these regulations against the people they have to enforce them against is distasteful to a number of the Guards. It is impossible for a businessman who is allowed only 20 minutes in which to park his motor car to go into a premises and conduct his business. As everybody in the House who has ever had to undertake business of one kind or another knows, it is impossible to conduct important business in the course of 20 minutes. If the 20 minutes are exceeded, the Guard on duty, unless he is a sympathetic Guard using good commonsense, is more or less compelled to serve a summons on that particular businessman. I suppose there is no more law-abiding section of our community than these individuals, no people with greater respect for the law than these people, and yet, an extraordinary thing, they find themselves in court much more often than another type of person. Something will have to be done somehow. I have thrown out one suggestion; other Deputies have thrown out other suggestions; some of these suggestions will eventually have to be tackled with a view to bringing about some relief of this particular problem.
That brings me to the question of the temporary withdrawal of the acceptance of recruits to the Garda Síochána. I think that is a false economy and that it is folly to continue that policy at the present time. If it is part of the economy plan which is being adopted by the present Government, then I say it is carrying that policy to a ridiculous length to stop the recruitment, especially in the city, of that particular body. I must confess that I have no knowledge of the strength or weakness of the Garda Síochána in the country, but I do know that here in the city the metropolitan section of the Garda Síochána is regarded as being well under strength and the duties they are compelled to perform cannot be properly undertaken by the present numbers. The situation regarding the observance of the law in the city—while I am not suggesting that it is worse now than at any previous time—has probably deteriorated in proportion to the increase in the population. I cannot say if the metropolitan section of the Garda Síochána has risen in proportion to the rise in the population, but the fact remains that I think the Minister will be reinforced by the opinion of the various Deputies who have expressed their disapproval, in the course of this debate, on the question of the cessation of recruitment. I would strongly plead with the Minister, whatever it may be necessary to do with respect to the rural areas, that certainly as far as the metropolitan area is concerned, recruitment should not only continue but should be intensified until the situation is completely and entirely under control.
That brings me to another matter. A number of Deputies have made reference to the Special Branch of the Garda Síochána and called for its disbandment. I sincerely hope that the Minister will not listen to that plea. In the course of the debate, Deputy Con Lehane stated:—
"During the régime of his predecessor there was attached to the Department of Justice a section of the Garda Síochána whose function it was to exaggerate the differences of opinion that existed amongst certain sections of the community. I think it is a pity that the present Minister has not taken the step already advocated here by Deputy Dunne, namely, the disbandment of that special branch."
Now that special branch was not the creation of the last Government. It was there when the Fianna Fáil Government came into power and it was accepted as part of the machinery——