I raise with the Tánaiste today the matter of the deliberate and outrageous ramming of a Garda car in Cherry Orchard on Monday evening, which I utterly condemn. Is it a disadvantaged area? Yes, for sure. Is that an excuse? No. There are plenty of disadvantaged areas across all our constituencies where that type of behaviour would not be accepted or tolerated. Of particular concern to me is that there was a very isolated and vulnerable Garda response. We are very lucky that no member of An Garda Síochána was injured. In light of the budget next week, can the Tánaiste offer any reassurance to the House that An Garda Síochána will be adequately resourced to stamp out this type of thuggery and that those who perpetrate it will individually be held to account?

I thank Deputy Berry for raising this issue. We have all seen the video footage of what happened in Cherry Orchard. We are all taken aback and rather shocked at the scenes we saw and unreservedly condemn what happened. I have visited Cherry Orchard on a number of occasions. I spent time there with the former Minister of State, Catherine Byrne, before the pandemic and I have spoken to Senator Seery Kearney, who represents the area, in recent days. Cherry Orchard is a good community full of some really good people. They should not have to put up with a small number of people essentially wreaking terror on the majority of decent people who live there. It requires a response from the Government that is tough on both crime and the causes of crime. The Deputy will see a response from the Government in that regard in resources for the Garda and in measures to reduce disadvantage, which drives crime in some parts of our city.