I hope the Taoiseach had the opportunity to hear the passionate words of Father Michael Cusack on RTE last Saturday. The Taoiseach was away on very serious business in London but I hope somebody relayed Father Cusack's words to him.

With the lack of basic equipment, the withdrawal of Garda vehicles and the lack of access to information and communication technology, morale is at an all-time low in An Garda Síochána. We have heard stories of blocked toilets in Garda stations, broken cells which are closed and of many months before repairs are carried out. To make matters worse, we heard of Detectives leaving the scene of a crime because they had to return to the Garda station to have their sandwiches. All of these attacks on the Garda Síochána ---

A tax on the Garda Síochána?

----are contributing to an all-time low in morale. I ask the Taoiseach and his colleagues to listen to the Garda Síochána. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, refuses to listen to them and demonises them, saying that the GRA has "form". This is different and anyone who watched the rally last night could clearly see the frustration on the faces of all of the front-line staff, including nurses and gardaí, at the constant erosion of their salaries and payment levels and the lack of support for them in going about their duties and providing us with the safety we enjoy. It behoves all of us in this House to support the front-line workers in their duties, which are very serious. There is a very thin line between law and order and mayhem.

I ask the Taoiseach to respond to issues raised by members of the Garda Síochána. They are outside of the Croke Park extension negotiations and they feel the proposed cuts are a breach of the original agreement. I ask the Taoiseach to insist that the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, has respect for the members of the Garda Síochána and offers words of support and commendation to them, especially at this grave time, with them having lost one of their colleagues so tragically in County Louth recently. He must listen to the words of the passionate Father Cusack, who made eminent sense. He was not talking from any pulpit but was speaking the plain language of the ordinary people who have fear in their eyes. I ask the Taoiseach to ensure that there are some cuts to free legal aid and that the approach is balanced and not all on the side of the criminals. I ask the Taoiseach to ask his Minister to support the Garda Síochána and the front-line services.

The Deputy's question ranges over free legal aid, statements made by a member of the Catholic Church, pay and vehicles. I can assure Deputy McGrath that we have the utmost respect for the work that members of An Garda Síochána do.

The Taoiseach needs to show it.

They are the line of defence between ordinary citizens and criminal elements. I know of no garda who will not get involved in law abiding and crime prevention activities, whether on duty or not. We have seen evidence of that over the years, where gardaí, in their off-duty hours, have performed heroic deeds in preventing crime and in seeing that the law of the land is upheld. We have the utmost respect for the Garda Commissioner and for every member of the force for the work that they do.

Regarding the pay talks, it should be said that the place to deal with the anxieties, concerns and issues that arise in respect of pay is at the table. I would say again from this forum to the representative associations who have removed themselves from those talks that the best place for them to make their case, to articulate and negotiate their case, is at those talks.

This year, the statistics speak for themselves in respect of the increased number of arrests made by gardaí, the increase in activity levels, in vigilance and in access to gardaí for the public because of the changes to garda rosters. There is evidence already that in a number of cases where Garda stations have been closed, because of those changed rosters and of the extra capacity, the public see more----

Crime is up in those areas.

-----and have more access to the gardaí.

This year €5 million has been set aside for the acquisition of Garda vehicles which I hope, depending on the deal reached, will provide very many vehicles for the many stations and officers who need them around the country. It goes without saying that in the three years prior to 2011, very few Garda vehicles were actually acquired or provided. I recently saw one with 298,000 kilometres on the clock and the expense of having to maintain a failing vehicle is evident.

That was not the car in which the Taoiseach was being driven.

That is why this year, in 2013, the Government has provided €5 million for the acquisition of Garda vehicles. That will be enforced as time goes on because they do need the very best of facilities, including communications technology and access to proper vehicles to enable them to do their job.

The pay element of the discussions are taking place at a very critical time. I repeat again that the place for the representative associations of the gardaí is at the table and that is where I would request them to return to articulate their concerns and issues.

There is a huge breakdown in communication here. What the Commissioner is telling the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice and Equality is totally at variance with what we all of us are hearing on a daily basis. The GRA is urgently requesting a meeting with the Garda Commissioner and wants him to outline how he is going to support his force. The Taoiseach is saying one thing here and another thing elsewhere. He and some of his Ministers have said that they will legislate to cut garda allowances if the cuts are not accepted in the Croke Park talks. Is that the way to support An Garda Síochána? I think not. In my own county of Tipperary and in Clonmel in particular, Garda cars have been taken from other areas to shore up support. Clonmel Garda station has the lowest number of gardaí per head of population in the country. Superintendents are fighting and scraping to get Garda vehicles. The Government promised us 200 vehicles last November but we have not seen any of them yet. The force cannot wait any longer. The vehicles are falling apart. The Taoiseach cannot speak out of both sides of his mouth. We need to support the members of the Garda Síochána and give them the tools of the trade to do the job they want to do, for all of us, on a daily basis. That cannot be done by the Minister for Justice and Equality insulting and denigrating them. Even on the day after the sad burial in County Louth recently he was on radio again condemning and bemoaning the gardaí. That is the not the way to support them. They need his full support and that of the Government. They need all our support.

It is beneath Deputy Mattie McGrath to suggest that the Minister for Justice and Equality, who has constant contact with the Garda Commissioner, would in any way disparage the Garda force or any officer of the force.

He left them waiting for over an hour for a meeting.

I will not accept from Deputy Mattie McGrath a disparaging of the Garda Commissioner either, who has a hands-on involvement with the day-to-day running of the Garda Síochána.

What did Deputy Mattie McGrath say about the Commissioner?

Last year, in 2012, €4 million was provided for Garda vehicles when precious little had been provided in the years previously.

He has put a gagging order on the gardaí.

This year we are providing a further €5 million for the acquisition of Garda vehicles. Everybody knows that we cannot expect gardaí to prevent crime with inferior vehicles that are clapped out. That is why, between last year and this year-----

They have no telephones.

-----€9 million has been provided for the acquisition of vehicles. I am glad to note that a number of those vehicles will be fully Internet equipped and will allow gardaí to do their job as they are required to do instead of sitting in Garda stations for two hours on a daily basis.

That is an insult. They never sat in stations. They were out talking to the public.

The Government will be giving them camper vans shortly.

The public want to see the gardaí, to have access to them and to know they have proper facilities and equipment. They need to know gardaí will be there when they need them. I thank the gardaí for the changes they have made to rosters in stations all over the country which has allowed greater visibility, access and attention. The other day, a burglary took place and a Garda car was on the scene in three and a half minutes, which would not have been possible without the new rosters.