Last week, I raised with the Taoiseach the issue of the growing crime problem, particularly drug crime, in Cork and the lack of Garda resources to deal with it. He stated that he was unable to comment directly on the issue as he did not have an up-to-date briefing. I hope he has since received such a briefing, particularly in light of the smash and grab organised online this week which led to 100 youths running up and down St. Patrick's Street with their faces covered. Only for the quick action of the Garda, untold damage could have been caused to businesses.

In case the Taoiseach has not received an up-to-date briefing, I will give him a flavour of the situation, as outlined in a recent statement given by the Garda Representative Association, GRA, to the Irish Examiner. He does not have to take my word on this issue. The GRA stated that, as a result of a shortage of 125 front-line gardaí, the people of Cork city are not getting the policing service they deserve. It stated that gardaí are bogged down doing secretarial work, a situation it described as farcical considering there was supposed to be a major push to bring in civilians to do the administrative work within the force. It further stated that single-officer patrols are now a regular occurrence in areas such as Douglas, Ballincollig and Blarney and that these are a health and safety issue for members of the force. The district detective unit, which is currently investigating several murders and is expected to also investigate other very serious crimes, had its numbers almost halved from 30 in 2013 to its current complement of 16. At one point last year, the protective services unit, which investigates sexual crime, had to stop taking on new cases, as I pointed out last week to the Taoiseach. Each garda in the unit is dealing with up to 39 complex cases. This situation is no longer acceptable or sustainable.

Padraig Harrington, a member of the GRA's central executive committee, has stated on record that calls for more gardaí in Cork are falling on deaf ears. He further stated that if the requests do not come from divisions in Dublin, senior management in Dublin do not want to know, and that several new patrol cars assigned to the southern region earlier this year were subsequently diverted to divisions in Dublin.

That is the reality in Cork city and its suburbs. That is what we are hearing on doorsteps while canvassing. People are concerned for their safety and that of their families. Communities are concerned. People are entitled to feel safe regardless of whether they are from Ballsbridge or Knocknaheeney, Foxrock or Mayfield. All we are asking for in Cork is a fair allocation of resources. Last week, the Taoiseach stated - and the Tánaiste reiterated last Friday on local radio - that he would discuss with the Garda Commissioner the issues I raised in this Chamber last Wednesday. Has he done so? If not, why not?

I wish to congratulate the Garda on its swift action to prevent rioting and criminal damage in Cork. I do not think there were 100 masked youths on the street. The matter is under investigation, but I do not think that is quite what happened. Certainly, the Garda acted swiftly to prevent any crimes being committed or criminal damage being caused. It is a very good example of policing working in Cork and in Ireland more broadly.

There are now more than 14,000 gardaí. The Government reversed the decision of the previous Government to stop the recruitment of gardaí. We have been recruiting and adding to the Garda force ever since. There must be more than 1,000 members of the Garda based in Cork city and county. Of course, how they are rostered and deployed is a matter for the Garda Commissioner rather than the Government, and that is as it should be.

I respect the fact that the GRA has called for additional Garda resources in Cork but it has also called for extra resources on the Border, in Donegal and in Dublin. That indicates to me that we need more and better-equipped gardaí in all parts of the country, not just in Cork. That is precisely what we are doing. The Garda budget for next year will be nearly €1.9 billion, the biggest Garda budget ever, and will enable us to continue to recruit more gardaí. The reforms being led by the Commissioner include the recruitment of more Garda staff, which will take gardaí out of offices and away from counters and onto streets, into patrol cars and onto bikes in the community, where people wish to see them. That is all under way. The guarantee I can give to people in Cork and all other parts of the country is that they will continue to see an increase in the number of gardaí in communities not just because we are recruiting additional members of the Garda but also because we are equipping them better and reforming the Garda service such that there are fewer chiefs, less management and administration and more gardaí on the beat or in cars, available for the public to see them, which is what the public wants.

The number of cases of robbery from the person in Cork between January and September this year is up by 90%. Assaults causing harm in the same period increased by 16%, while minor assaults in Cork city increased by 19%. That is the reality with which we are dealing. The Taoiseach can talk about additional resources all he wants, but those resources are not coming to Cork. I asked him a specific question. He gave a commitment last week to discuss the concerns I raised with him in this Chamber with the Garda Commissioner. Has he done so? If not, why not?

I have not yet had the opportunity to do so, but I will the next time I meet the Garda Commissioner.

That is not good enough.

We meet regularly in the context of the Cabinet sub-committee on security. As the Deputy will appreciate, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, meets the Commissioner more regularly than do I and has already raised the issue with him on behalf of the Government.

The Deputy referred to statistics. I am a believer in science - this is Science Week - and I like statistics, but we can sometimes be a little selective in our use of them. I will provide two figures to which the Deputy did not refer.

There are people behind each of these statistics.

That is so. I will provide other statistics which also have people behind them. In the past year, burglaries are down by 10% nationwide. We should welcome that. The decrease is to be encouraged, particularly in rural areas where we are seeing a significant reduction in burglaries because of action the Garda has taken. In the past year, murders and homicide offences are down by 40% as a result of the excellent work being done by the Garda.

Murders and other homicides have increased in Cork.