During a recent visit to Cork, the Fine Gael party leader and Tánaiste suggested that a Garda task force for Cork city would be a good idea. He made a number of announcements about it which were greeted with great fanfare but he did not give a specific date for when it would be established. There was neither a funding plan nor a full plan put in place. Meanwhile, Glanmire Garda station in a part of the constituency that I represent, on which over €2 million was spent on refurbishment, has two gardaí working in it and is not open to the public. Nobody can get a document stamped. There is no garda on duty who is available to members of the public. Ballincollig Garda station, which services over 20,000 residents in my constituency of Cork North-Central, is open for 15 hours per week on paper. However, the reality is that it is only open for about two hours per week. Nobody can get access to the station. I am sick and tired of meeting gardaí on the ground who tell me they do not have people to answer the phones. I am sick and tired of meeting residents' groups in Cork who tell me they cannot understand why they cannot get through to a Garda station. The reality is that there is nobody there. Will the Minister make finance available to the Department of justice to properly fund gardaí in Cork so that people can feel safe in Cork city again?

I am sure the Deputy will understand that I am not in a position to comment on any individual Garda station. I am sure the Minister for justice will be able to respond to the Deputy on that but the Government is fully supportive of the efforts of the Minister to increase the number of gardaí and to continue our efforts to keep our streets safe in Cork and elsewhere. Three things have been done in that regard. First, as the Deputy will be aware, we have increased the stipend that is available to those who want to become gardaí and are attending Templemore to help them to deal with the cost of that training and to maintain their living standards when they are there. Second, we have changed the age at which people can join An Garda Síochána, recognising the fact that many people are able to join An Garda Síochána a little later in life and do really important work. Third, we have increased, budget by budget, the amount of funding that is available to An Garda Síochána to ensure that Templemore is supplying new gardaí and prioritising them being on the beat on the streets of our cities and towns. That is what we are doing. We know that issues of law and order and safety continue to matter so much. We need to do more on it and they are the actions that the Government and the Minister have put in place.