Yesterday I listened again as the Minister for Justice became a commentator-in-chief and stated that parts of Dublin are unsafe. How long do those parts of Dublin have to remain unsafe? What exactly does the Government intend to do to increase not only perceptions of safety in our city but also actual safety? Last year we saw the first increase in Garda numbers since 2020. The increase in question was 196. At the current rate of increase, it would take two decades to bring the force up to the 18,000 recommended by the Garda Commissioner. What is the plan? Parts of Dublin cannot simply remain unsafe.

I thank the Deputy. I was asked a straight question yesterday and I gave a straight answer. Before I was appointed as Minister for Justice I was asked whether parts of Dublin are unsafe at certain times and I said that they are. I am not going to change my answer simply because it is convenient to do so. I emphasise, however, that I would have thought that if people in this House were asked whether Stoneybatter was a safe place on a Sunday afternoon, they all would have said that it was a safe place. Obviously, circumstances can arise that make it unsafe. I am committed to ensuring that Dublin is safe. The best way to do so is to ensure that we have more Garda visibility. The Deputy and I both support that. I assure him that in my engagements with the Garda Commissioner, the primary point I keep making is that we want to see more gardaí on the streets.