I recently attended a community meeting with local gardaí on antisocial behavioural issues in a town in my constituency. The gardaí at the meeting said this is a priority area but that there were no gardaí to put out on the beat. This is not their fault, of course, but it is very worrying for the town itself. It is particularly worrying for rural communities in which Garda stations have been closed in recent years. Yesterday morning, I heard the general secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI, on the radio. She described the recruitment issues in the Garda as grave. They are grave because the targets being set by Government are not being met. There were to be 800 gardaí recruited last year but fewer than 120 actually enlisted. This is an issue of great concern for all of us with regard to keeping our communities safe. It is clear that more gardaí are leaving - some 107 resigned last year - than starting. The AGSI has put forward proposals in this area and did so again on the radio yesterday morning. What is the Government going to do about the recruitment and retention crisis in An Garda Síochána?

I have discussed this matter with the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner, who was one of the first people I met when I was reappointed to the office of Taoiseach. They have plans in place to ramp up recruitment dramatically this year. Funding has been provided for an additional 1,000 gardaí. If successfully recruited, this will mean more new gardaí than retirements or resignations. A recruitment campaign is due to launch quite soon.