Jim O'Callaghan, Minister for Justice: I also welcome that we are having statements today on policing and safety in our communities. As Minister for Justice, I assure the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and Members of the House that my priority is to ensure the people can live in communities which they regard as enjoyable and safe. That is not just my priority. I know it is also the priority of my colleagues in the Department of Justice, the Ministers of State, Deputies Brophy and Collins. It is also a priority of the Government.

When we refer to communities being enjoyable and safe, we need to recognise what it is we are trying to achieve. We want to try to ensure people can live their lives in communities without being exposed to the threat of criminality and antisocial behaviour or, if they occur, that they know there will be a State response in that respect. It is important we discuss such issues in this House because when we try to identify issues in the different communities around the country in respect of safety and policing, there is no more qualified group of people than the Members of this House. Every Member of this House comes with a personal mandate from the previous general election. They also come with the fact they have to represent everyone throughout their constituencies irrespective of whether those people voted for them in the past general election. The advantage of our electoral system is that it is impossible to be an effective and successful TD, or indeed to get elected to this House, unless you are aware of the circumstances pertaining in your community. That is why I will listen closely to what Members have to say in respect of policing and safety in their communities. Although I am Minister for Justice for the whole country, I will not have the same level of knowledge that Deputies have in respect of their own constituencies. That is the great advantage of this House and debating Chamber, that we get to hear what the issues are in particular communities with regard to policing and safety.

One thing I suspect will be universal across the contributions from Members over the next two hours is that every person will talk about the number of members of An Garda Síochána operating within their community. Every time I speak to a Member of Dáil Éireann or the Seanad, the one thing they emphasise is that they want to see more members of An Garda Síochána in their community. That is not something we should take for granted. There are many countries in the world where some communities do not want to see police officers in the community. In Ireland it is the opposite. We want to see more members of An Garda Síochána visible on the ground. I will deal with that in more detail when I come to focus on An Garda Síochána, but the predominant reason is that the presence of An Garda Síochána in a community gives it a sense of safety and confidence. Even if it is the case that there is no immediate prospect of criminal activity, I think it is universally accepted that the mere presence of gardaí in a community has a positive impact on it.

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