I pay tribute to and commend the courage and dignity of the family of the late Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe yesterday, and pay tribute to the members of the Garda Síochána and the people of Dundalk for their strength and support for the family yesterday at the funeral. I also commend the community of Lordship who demonstrated over the past couple of days, in the face of where only a couple of miles away a callous murder was committed, what good is in the country. I was fortunate to go out to Lordship in the past couple of days and the welcome, the food and community spirit of the people who gathered together are a true testament of what good is in this country. It showed, if anything was to come out of yesterday, the extent of revulsion, not only of the people of Dundalk who turned out in their thousands to support the family where words can mean nothing to those who have been left decimated by the cruel murder, but also the support of the people of Dundalk and of the country for action against these callous murderers who committed such a heinous crime.

I want to air my concern, as I have done over the past couple of days, that when these persons are caught - caught they will be - the 40 years' sentence for capital murders will be strictly enforced, the 40 years' minimum sentence is exactly that, and there will be no time off, as there has been in other cases, for good behaviour or extenuating circumstances. There can be no remission for a crime of this kind. I also want to bring up a topic that was raised last week in terms of free legal aid for persons who are convicted of such crimes and question whether persons like this who commit capital murder should be entitled to free legal aid in cases such as this.

This morning I want to raise a serious issue in the country, which the nation is talking about non-stop and which the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe has brought to the fore. I call for an urgent independent review of the Garda Síochána. Judge Conroy conducted an independent review of the Garda Síochána in 1970. The cuts in the number of Garda stations, the cut in the number of gardaí available in the countryside and the cuts in resources cannot be decided by civil servants who tell the Minister what he wants to hear. We need an independent review to look at whether the Garda Síochána is being adequately resourced.

I wish to make three points. First, there are these gangsters crossing over the Border between North and South with impunity. I call for an immediate intensifying of the relationships between the PSNI and the Garda Síochána. They should have simultaneous road blocks on either side of the Border. We all know that the PSNI and the Garda cannot cross the Border but there should be simultaneous road blocks on either side and radio control, and we should intensify the meetings that take place between them to know what is going on in the country.

In this second, important point I concur with Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell. Although I hate having to say so in public, Irish institutions have been very badly managed. We should have top-class Garda sergeants in all these areas around the country.

Is Senator White looking for a debate on this?

This is an important point. Top-class Garda sergeants are the front-line officers who know what is going on in the community and they need to manage the resources under them so that the Garda on the beat or on patrol knows what is his job to do. I believe this is not happening. The resources are being badly managed.

Finally, I want to put on the record what was stated by Fr. Michael Cusack of the Redemptorist church in Dundalk, which I used visit so much with my grandmother, that evil exists-----

We do not put on the record of the House the names of persons who are not here to defend themselves.

He spoke of the people, not only the poor garda who was murdered but the elderly in the cross-Border counties. There have been 50 burglaries already in January of this year.

Is Senator White looking for a debate? Senator O'Brien is proposing a debate next week in that regard. I call Senator Whelan.

For God's sake, as Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell stated, let us wake up and get our act together.

On a point of order, what I had to say to the House this morning was about the selling of State assets, not about gardaí.

I am talking about the management of our institutions.

Senator White made her point. I call Senator Whelan.

Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell spoke of the management of State assets, that we ourselves should manage them and not have to hand them out.

Senator White should resume her seat.