I want to ask the Taoiseach about Garda presence in our rural communities. We know from recent data released by my colleague, Deputy Martin Kenny, that Garda membership across the State has fallen since 2009 while the population has grown by over 11% in that time. Since 2009, Garda numbers in Galway have increased by just 19. The wider division of Mayo, Roscommon and Longford has got 17 additional gardaí in the past 13 years. Those are three mostly rural counties. Crime is on the rise. Burglaries are up 47% in Roscommon and Longford, which is a really frightening statistic. Antisocial behaviour, not just in our cities but also in many rural towns, is on the rise as well. Some towns are really suffering and people are living in fear. We need a deliverable policing plan in conjunction with our communities, and it needs to include additional gardaí on the beat, especially in rural towns. Will the Taoiseach commit to that policing plan?

In recent years there has been a substantial increase in resources for recruitment of gardaí. That will continue. I accept that there are challenges, particularly in the context of antisocial behaviour and in rural Ireland. We want to strengthen and support An Garda Síochána. Funding for 1,000 gardaí to be recruited next year was provided in the budget. I am informed by the Garda authorities that, at the end of August of this year, there were 14,283 Garda members, supported by more than 3,117 Garda staff. That is an increase of about 12% since 2015, when we had 12,816 Garda members throughout the country, so there has been a significant increase since 2015. The budget this year is €2.14 billion. We have to get the recruitment campaign going. About 11,000 people applied to join the service in 2022.