Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2024-04-18
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Peadar Tóibín (AON), Meath West

The number of gardaí has fallen every year since the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, has been in office. Gardaí have been retiring and resigning in bigger numbers than ever before. They are being attacked every day. Recruitment is on the floor. Rape, sexual assault, violent crime and domestic violence are all increasing significantly. The number of gardaí in the traffic corps has fallen by 40% in just 12 years, leading to a spike in road deaths. Prisons are jammed at the moment and the criminal justice system is in freefall. Today we see the dysfunction at the top of the justice system crystallised further with the Minister snubbing the annual conference of the Garda Representative Association, GRA. For a Minister who barely survived the Cabinet reshuffle, it is incredible that she is presiding over a worsening crisis at the top of An Garda Síochána. The GRA has said that Garda morale is on the floor. Gardaí are telling me that the force is being run like a dictatorship. They say there is no engagement and that they are being forced to work with their hands tied behind their backs.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2024-04-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:52:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2024-04-18