A PhoneWatch survey carried out recently shows that there has been a 30% increase in robberies in the Roscommon-Longford Garda division and a 36% increase in the Sligo-Leitrim division. In the Roscommon-Longford area in 2017, there were 339 robberies. In Sligo-Leitrim, there were 247. I know the Minister for Justice and Equality is gone. It is clear that the policing model being pushed by this Government is not working. I ask the Government to review it, including the closure of Garda stations. The issue needs to be addressed. It is a huge issue in many parts of my constituency and many parts of rural Ireland.

The policing model is principally a matter for the acting Garda Commissioner and his team. They are best placed to know what type of policing works in the different communities throughout the country. I point out that, over the past couple of years, we have made considerable progress in increasing the size of our force of gardaí. We will meet our target of increasing the number of gardaí in the country to 15,000 and the wider force involving civilians and the reserve to 21,000. Since Templemore was reopened to new recruits, 1,400 new gardaí have attested, so we are seeing a substantial increase in the number of gardaí available to police our communities.