I acknowledge the hard work and commitment of our gardaí across the country. Day in and day out they serve communities with professionalism and dedication, often under significant pressure and with limited resources. The increase in Garda recruitment and investment in recent years is welcome and appreciated. However, rural communities still feel they are not seeing the benefit of the investment on the ground. The issue is not simply Garda numbers; it is the geographical spread of resources. Too many rural towns and villages are left without a visible Garda presence. People in rural Ireland deserve to feel safe in their homes, farms and communities. Farmers continue to face theft and trespassing. Elderly residents are worried about isolation and long response times. Many communities feel disconnected from local policing. We need to ensure that recruitment and resources are distributed more fairly so that rural Ireland is not left behind. Will the Government commit to improving the geographical spread of Garda resources and increasing the visible Garda presence in rural communities, particularly in Carlow-Kilkenny but also around the country?

I thank the Deputy for raising this. He has a particular focus on this issue. I will speak to the Minister for justice. Generally speaking, we support what the Deputy said. The numbers are increasing of those coming through Templemore recruitment centre and college, which is good. There was an initial focus on Dublin and cities but that will change. There is now an increasing allocation to rural areas. In terms of a recruitment and dispersal strategy, I take fully on board what the Deputy is saying.

I will also pick up on his point that perhaps we need to look at the policing model for rural Ireland and work with local community safety partnerships and local stakeholders in rural Ireland to see what is the best way to deploy resources to enable people to feel safe. I have witnessed recently that where we had greater Garda visibility on streets, the psychological impact was amazing. People felt safer because of that.