Page 84 of the programme for Government states:

Community safety is at the heart of the ongoing transformation of An Garda Síochána. The...Government will ensure that this will be a key part of our social contract with citizens. An Garda Síochána is enriched by its resilient links in the areas it works with and protects.

In Laois-Offaly, there is an ongoing and serious issue with Garda recruitment numbers. We all know that morale is very low in An Garda Síochána at present but morale will be even lower and we will face an even greater exodus of gardaí if we do not support them in every constituency. In my own constituency of Laois-Offaly, we have seen the number of community gardaí drop and drop. The response to a parliamentary question I submitted last year showed that there were 44 community gardaí covering the constituency of Laois-Offaly in 2009 and this figure dropped to just seven last year. I call for more gardaí, for the reopening of Garda stations in Banagher, Kilcormac and Kinnitty and for the operational hours of these stations to be increased.

Garda recruitment is ramping up and we are confident that we will recruit 700 or 800 new gardaí this year. In the next few months, the total number of gardaí will again exceed 14,000 so total numbers will be rising again and will do so again next year. How gardaí are assigned to different parts of the country, as the Deputy knows, is a decision for the Garda Commissioner rather than for the Government. However, I meet the Garda Commissioner every six months or so and I will make sure that the Deputy's request is passed on to him directly.