For the past months we have witnessed a number of high profile and worrying criminal events across the State that are causing great concern. There has been a raft of ATM thefts on both sides of the Border. There is also insidious evidence of an increase in gang activity and drug related activity in Drogheda in particular. The Garda armed response unit had to be brought into Drogheda. It appears that Drogheda has been left short of gardaí for the past year and criminal activity was allowed fester in the context of that shortage.

Drogheda, as we all know, is a fantastic town. I had the pleasure of visiting it last year during the Fleadh and the welcome was phenomenal. The people of Drogheda took charge of their own destiny by having a very dignified and silent protest calling on criminal gangs to step back and calling for action to protect their town and the people in it.

These criminal gangs and others involved in the drug trade are spreading their malignant activity across the State as pressure comes on them in Dublin. People living in towns, villages and small communities across the country are justifiably concerned about this activity. They are concerned about the poor and slow response to what is happening.

Last night RTÉ carried a report from Longford, a small and proud town which has armed gardaí - once again - on duty on its streets as we speak. There have been two arson attacks, four stabbings and 43 violent incidents there over the past months. People are worried, concerned and fed up. This morning the Garda Representative Association was interviewed on RTÉ's "Morning Ireland" and spoke about gardaí not being able to engage actively with the feuding families as they are operating a fire brigade service, going from call to call. The GRA representative said that the force is operating on a very tight overtime budget and there simply are not enough gardaí patrolling the streets. He believes that the only answer is gardaí on the street in their faces so they cannot behave like that. This is the view of the GRA, which represents the gardaí on the street.

I refer to Longford and Drogheda but are there other towns or communities that will have the armed response on their streets over the next weeks? What is the Government doing to engage actively with these problems before they require that level of response? What is the Government doing to prevent eruptions of gang violence around the country before communities are terrorised and before people are threatened in their own communities? Does the Tánaiste believe that extra resources are needed to tackle this issue in the State?

I thank Deputy Calleary for raising this issue. I am aware of reports about a number of violent and public order incidents that have occurred in Longford recently. I am not in a position to discuss specific details about Garda operations in the area but I can assure the House that gardaí will not permit a small number of individuals - in this case families who are feuding - to put local communities in fear for their safety. Criminal acts of this nature have no place in civilised society and An Garda Síochána is determined to bring the perpetrators of these acts to justice as soon as possible and to protect and reassure the broader communities.

The House will be aware that the Garda Commissioner and his management team are solely responsible for the allocation of Garda resources, including personnel, with regard to new and emerging crime trends. Neither the Government nor the Minister for Justice and Equality are permitted to intervene in Garda operational matters, and we should not. We do, however, have a responsibility to make sure that the resources are available to the Garda Commissioner and his teams to make sure they can respond appropriately.

The Government has made unprecedented resources available to An Garda Síochána. Budget 2019 saw the allocation of €1.76 billion to An Garda Síochána to help it carry out its vital functions. In December 2018 the Government endorsed the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, accepting all 157 recommendations. A four year high level implementation plan was also published, with progress overseen by a dedicated programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach. There is a considerable amount of work to be done, including drafting new policing legislation that will ensure the broader concept of community safety will be embedded in statute. Key to this is policing in partnership with communities, other Departments and agencies that provide essential services and supports to communities and individuals who are at risk. The Garda recruitment campaign is currently under way, which will ensure that An Garda Síochána remains on target to reach the figure of 15,000 sworn members by 2021. The number of sworn gardaí is now in excess of 14,000 with 200 more gardaí having attested on 7 June. A further 200 gardaí will attest before the end of this year.

I share the Deputy's concern. We need to ensure that the Garda is resourced to respond to new criminal threats, be they gangland crime or families feuding. We need to ensure the necessary resources and skills are available from a training and equipment perspective for An Garda Síochána but the allocation of resources and planning on the ground has to come from the Garda Commissioner.

I fully accept that operational issues are for the Garda Commissioner, but when extra gardaí were assigned to Drogheda the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Charles Flanagan, and the local Fine Gael Deputy made sure they were there for the press conference and the pictures. The gardaí were assigned after the events took off and after the problem took hold. Today we are referring to Drogheda and Longford, which are two fine communities, but there are communities across the country living in fear of low-level anti-social behaviour up to drug and criminal gang activity. They do not want to be the next towns with armed support units. There needs to be proactivity on the part of the Minister and the Government, while respecting the line and respecting that operational issues are a matter for the Garda Commissioner. We need proactivity from the Government and the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, to respond to concerns in the communities around the country as they see their own communities, families and day-to-day activities being targeted by gangs. These places do not want to be the next towns with armed support units. I put it to the Tánaiste that proactivity at Cabinet level and working with the Garda Commissioner is what we need, not false promises or false issues about legislation.

Deputy Calleary has accused the Government of many things but I do not believe it is credible to accuse the Government of not being open to new thinking, better policing and new ways of doing things from a policing perspective. There is a constant programme of reform, reassessment and independent assessment of policing in Ireland - for obvious reasons - over the last years. This continues. The resources continue to increase. The number of gardaí continues to increase, which is needed. This is happening not just in Longford and Drogheda but also in many other parts of the State and in our constituencies, as we know only too well.

The presence of the Minister for Justice and Equality with the Garda Commissioner at times of stress and fear in towns such as Drogheda in response to gangland crime is more than appropriate to reassure people that right at the top of Government we can understand the concerns and the need for a response. The actual response does need to be designed by police officers in An Garda Síochána with the Garda Commissioner's office. If the Garda Commissioner needs more resources or stronger legislation in certain areas he will get both. This is the kind of relationship needed between the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for Justice and Equality, which is a very strong and important relationship.