As someone from a Garda family, my father having served in the force and my brother currently serving, I know at first hand the vital role that an effective and well-resourced Garda service plays in keeping our community safe. However, in north Kildare, where towns like Kilcock, Maynooth, Celbridge, Leixlip and Naas are experiencing rapid growth, Garda numbers have not kept pace. Celbridge, with its population of 23,000, has a Garda station that opens for an hour every day. Maynooth, even with its university, has a station with similar hours. We are down in sergeant numbers and, despite receiving five new recruits, we are losing five members, so the balance will be the same. At the moment in Kildare, there is no crime prevention officer.

Given the Government’s commitment to increasing Garda recruitment in the coming five years, what specific steps are we taking to ensure north Kildare receives an adequate allocation of new gardaí to reflect its growing population and policing needs?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I pay tribute to An Garda Síochána for the outstanding work it does to keep us all safe and protect society and our citizens. I pay tribute to the Deputy’s family on their distinguished contribution to An Garda Síochána. We are recruiting more and more gardaí. As we recruit more, we will be in a better position to deploy gardaí to Kildare and indeed farther afield.