Louise O'Reilly
Dublin Fingal West · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“I welcome this debate this afternoon and am happy to be able to make a small contribution to it. I grew up in a Border town. I ended up in that town because my father was a trade union organiser who represented workers on both sides of the Border for a long number of years and, in fact, went on to be based in the North for a long time.”
“I am fortunate enough to represent a constituency that is very firmly in the Dublin–Belfast economic corridor. Before partition, as we know, Belfast was a thriving industrial powerhouse. Partition put a lid on the potential of that city to grow and flourish.”
“When we talk about Irish unity, we should frame that discussion as one about potential for growth, the potential for all-Ireland working and all-Ireland business. Between Belfast and Dublin, there are five universities, numerous colleges of further education and training, and businesses that are ready to scale up.”
“As the debate on Irish unity advances, and it is advancing despite what some of the people opposite would like to happen, we need to frame that discussion in a positive way. We need to look clearly for those opportunities while acknowledging the challenges. We are not blind to the challenges.”
“If her letter does not have any impact - let us be honest; it has not had any impact - the Minister of State might outline what he will do that might go a bit further than writing a letter. We know that devices are essential. We know that parents want their kids to be able to participate.”
“I thank the Deputies for bringing forward this motion. I was chatting to my dad as I was coming in and told him I would be debating this motion in relation to supports for parents this morning. He reminded me, of course, that it was the Labour Party in government that cut those very supports.”
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“I acknowledge the words of the Minister. She mentioned two counties in her contribution. She did not mention County Dublin. There are people living in my constituency who were living there when they were abused by Michael Shine because Our Lady of Lourdes is the local hospital for Balbriggan. I am sure that was an oversight on her part. What is at the heart of this is that these kids and their families were not listened to. When we talk to victims and survivors of that vile and disgusting man, they tell us that everybody knew but nobody stood up. As my colleagues said, it was an open secret along the corridors of Our Lady of Lourdes. The State failed those children, their families and the good decent people in the hospital who were trying to speak up.”
“She sobbed her heart out and she said "But there must be a way surely". This woman works hard, her husband works hard, and her son. They are terrified for the future.”
“The man, as it goes, happens to be undergoing some fairly heavy-duty cancer treatment at the moment. Their notice to quit expires in two months' time. I had to tell that woman that she, her husband and her son will have to go to emergency accommodation. I understand what is in the note the Minister of State read. The Minister of State and I both know that in the real world there is no available private rented accommodation coming over the hill. The woman asked what the emergency accommodation was like. It is not good. I would not like to live in it and I do not think the Minister of State would like to live in it either. She cried her heart out in my office. I am the only TD in my area who has an office - I have two, in fact - and this may be part of the reason that we see more of these cases than others do.”
“I absolutely respect that the Minister of State is giving me the information she has but that information is not accurate. It does not represent a 54% increase by my figures but we can debate that another day. When people go to Fingal County Council looking for the tenant in situ scheme they are told it does not have the money. That email dated 28 April was actually a response to a query I had sent in. It said the council had responded to the landlord, which we know it had, explaining it is not in a position to accept new expressions of interest in the tenant in situ scheme accordingly. The council is not accepting expressions now. The Minister of State might say it should be or that it has the money, but that is not what the council is telling landlords. In the middle of all this I have a mam, a dad and their son.”
“I can tell the Minister of State in both cases the mams came to my constituency office and I had to tell them they will likely go to emergency accommodation. As the Minister of State and I both know, they are not renting anywhere privately as there is nowhere to rent. They are heading for emergency accommodation because the Government will not fund this scheme.”
“If you are renting privately in north County Dublin and you apply to Fingal County Council for the tenant in situ scheme the response you get makes it very clear the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage funds the scheme and it has not funded it for Fingal County Council. The case dated 18 February is that of a mam, a dad and three children and the one dated 18 April is of a mam, a dad and one child. I am going to spare them the embarrassment of naming them or their areas because quite frankly these people are going through enough, but both families have been told there is not enough funding in the tenant in situ scheme. It is not that their places are not appropriate but that the Government has not given the council enough money to fund the purchase of their homes, so those families will now go to emergency accommodation.”
“The first, dated 18 February, was sent by the council to a landlord who is selling the property but willing to sell it to the council. The council said: Unfortunately, given the number of cases progressed and the level of funding available, Fingal County Council is no longer accepting new expressions of interest in this scheme. If applications for the tenant in situ scheme reopen in 2026 it will be advertised. That is if it reopens. There is no doubt we need it, absolutely none at all. There is another letter dated 28 April. In it the council says it is not in a position to accept new expressions of interest in the tenant in situ scheme because it does not have the funding.”
“The only measure the Government sponsors that stops people in any way from becoming homeless is the tenant in situ scheme. I am sure the local authority housing list is as bad in the Minister of State's area as it is in mine, where people have a 14-year wait for a house or any kind of accommodation. When a person gets a notice to quit, if they are on the local authority housing list and they are evicted - and there has been a 41% jump in the number of people being evicted, kindly sponsored by the Government's latest legislation - the only measure that will keep them in their home is a tenant in situ purchase. I have two examples from Fingal County Council here, though I could paper the walls of this place with examples.”
“I welcome our guests in the Gallery. I will say this because I say it every time - and I do not in any way mean this to be disrespectful of the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, as I am grateful she is here - but it is regrettable the senior Minister has not made himself available for this because it is a very serious issue. It might not be a serious issue to him but it is an incredibly serious issue to the people I am representing. The Minister of State will know well that we are in the middle of a housing crisis. In the midst of that crisis the very least we could or should expect from a half-decent government is that it would not make things worse. There is a single measure that is a homelessness prevention measure.”
“We know we have the Kevin Duffy recommendation, which was accepted by both sides, but the individual branch managers want to be in a financial position to discharge their obligations. They have no capacity to raise the revenue, the Minister knows that, and the obligation is on his Department. I welcome that there is news in the coming days and I would welcome it even more in the Minister's next contribution if he advised me this is going to be good news for the branch managers and news that will allow them to discharge their obligations for auto enrolment and stay within their budgetary guidelines.”
“I might do the lotto on my way home because apparently I have incredible powers of prediction. I literally told the Minister this was going to happen. I said that if the Minister did not provide funding for people and if he put in an obligation regarding auto enrolment, particularly on organisations and entities that do not have access to any revenue-raising powers, this would happen. These people cannot raise revenue; they are not in a position to do that. They are entirely dependent on the State and the Minister knows that. He put the obligation for the auto enrolment on them. They want to be part of the auto enrolment scheme but my information is the Minister's Department is refusing to go to arbitration with them. That is very much a backwards step.”
“Industrial relations are a bit like the song "Hotel California", in that, apparently, I was able to check out but, unfortunately, was unable to leave. This industrial relations dispute concerns branch managers of social welfare offices. The Minister will be aware of the dispute. He will also be aware of the requirement by the Department that branch managers participate in auto enrolment but if it is not funded, how are they going to be able to do that?”
“James Reilly, was in the newspapers sometime back regarding all the money he gets, and rightly so, for the medical card patients he has but some of these practices are getting a lot of money from the State and are then refusing to handle requirements for applications for payments from the State. It is a bit much. I know that is somewhat tangential but it is a very serious issue.”
“Those figures are not brilliant. The Minister can present it any way he likes but those are not good figures. He mentioned medical professionals. The problem is not specific to Balbriggan but the most recent case that was brought to me is in Balbriggan where doctors are now refusing to fill out these forms and not just for people on the medical card, although it happens a lot with people on the medical card. I always encourage my constituents to appeal where a decision goes against them if I feel they have grounds for that. Increasingly, I am advising people to appeal but they have to go back to their doctors now and they are not getting the forms filled out. The doctors are just point blank refusing them. The former Minister for Health, Dr.”
“In my experience, very often, it involves the same information and the same person with the same disability and 60% of them are being overturned. That figure is one that should cause the Minister some concern.”
“It had better be something good because that is not a good figure. It is traumatic for people to have to go through the application process. I know the Minister has sat in his constituency office with people and has gone through these forms the same as I have, so he knows these forms are not easy. They are necessarily comprehensive and I am not for a moment suggesting that the information should not be collected but if 60% of them result in what the Minister refers to as a favourable outcome, that is not exactly a massive endorsement of the process that happens initially. With regard to 60% of them being overturned, the Minister says that new information can be provided but that is not an indication that there is new information.”
“I am asking this question on behalf of my colleague an Teachta Darren O'Rourke. It is fairly straightforward. It is just looking for the number and percentage of disability allowance decisions that are appealed, and the number and percentage of decisions overturned on appeal. What we are seeking to understand is the reasoning. In most circumstances, nothing changes materially, so it is essentially the same person submitting the same claim again. Sometimes it is overturned. My feeling is that a high number of cases are overturned on appeal but I await the figures from the Minister.”
“The Minister saw people on the streets, not just in tractors, but in wheelchairs, telling the Government very clearly that they were making choices between heating, eating and charging their mobility devices. The time for intervention is now.”
“I am a constituency TD, as is the Minister. I listen to my constituents and I have talked to people in my own party. From our read of it, there is a need for an intervention from the Government. We have proposed €400 in energy credits, a cut to the USC, which would be worth €500, €400 in emergency welfare payments and a €500 cost-of-disability payment, as well as an additional eight weeks on the fuel allowance because that is what people need. Last February, I was ten years in the Dáil. The Minister has been here longer. I have never experienced the level of poverty that I see in my constituency offices in Balbriggan and Rush. I have never seen anything like it. My constituency manager would say the same thing. People are desperate and being put to the pin of their collar. We are not making this up in the Opposition. This is coming to us.”
“The Minister will know that, before the war in Iran, 330,000 households were already in arrears with their bills. The average household arrears are €470. The Minister is playing ducks and drakes with percentages and references to millions of euro. The figure for the average arrears for household energy bills is €470 and the extension to the fuel allowance is worth €136. The Minister can see how those figures do not add up. The Taoiseach referred to October and January, but if people are struggling now, what is the Minister prepared to do for those households that are at risk of or are in poverty? They cannot pay their bills today and cannot wait until the budget in October and the measures to be introduced in January. That is far too long for people to wait.”
“As the Government seems to be blissfully unaware, there is a cost-of-living crisis. We know this from the numbers of people in energy arrears. We also know this from the figures from Barnardos and other agencies. This is backed up by the survey on income and living conditions, SILC, data. My question is simple. In light of the announcement of a surplus last week, has the Minister given any consideration to a cost-of-living payment for those vulnerable households at risk of poverty?”
“In truth, however, the PSC is no longer voluntary, particularly for those over 65. People do not have the choice to opt in. We are doing pre-legislative scrutiny on the social welfare Bill. It is a fairly big piece of legislation and changes to the PSC are contained within it. I am putting the Minister on notice that those changes will be resisted by me and the Opposition more broadly because there is no trust when it comes to the holding and collection of data.”
“The Minister stated that people can put their date of birth on it if they wish and that everything will be absolutely opt-in all the time but that is not true. The moment something like this is brought in, it becomes compulsory. Those aged over 65 have an entitlement to access the free travel scheme but they must have this card to do so. If people do not want to have the card, they are simply locked out of the scheme. When the Minister says that something will be voluntary, such as the public services card, it is not the case. The only thing people are volunteering to do is not have their lawful entitlement to the free travel scheme if they are over 65. Does the Minister understand why people are naturally suspicious about this? In the Minster’s answers, he talked a lot about it being voluntary and people opting in.”
“The Minister will well understand why I and others, such as the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and other groups, are necessarily cautious about this. For example, when the public services card, PSC, was brought in, it was said that it would be mandatory but not compulsory, or vice versa . In the end, the requirement for those over 65 is that they must have one of these cards with a chip in it to access the free travel scheme. There is a creeping sense that people are being asked to hand over their identification and have a level of trust – this is not personal to the Minister - in the Government in the holding of their data. I do not believe that sufficient work has been carried out in order to assuage people. The Data Protection Commissioner has already made a ruling in this regard, although I understand it is under appeal.”
“The Minister will be delighted to know that my question is straightforward. It relates to the expansion of the digital ID, or the public services card as it is known. The Minister will be well aware that this card has been mired in controversy. A succession of Ministers have tried to defend how this card is mandatory but somehow not compulsory. There is an element to this that people have to have it but they also do not have to have it. For that reason, I and many others are concerned about its expansion.”
“The scheme must be 100% because that is what people need and deserve. When will my constituents see money from this scheme, because that is what they need?”
“Constituents of mine who live in Rush, Lusk, Skerries and Ballyboghil will welcome this news. The Minister referred to 39 dwellings, but I would say 39 families. Those families have been to hell and back while their homes have crumbled down around their ears. They did nothing wrong. The Minister was full of praise for the local authorities, and that is fair enough, but there should be some recognition of the people who are impacted today and who will be joining the scheme, defective and all as it is if we forgive the pun, did nothing wrong. That is why the State is paying. It is not out of the goodness of the Minister's heart or because he has some notion of public service; it is because the State failed to regulate, and because of this these people are deserving of compensation.”
“The fact that the company does not puts its workers at a disadvantage. When workers look around and wonder who is in their corner, their union is in their corner, the ICTU is in their corner and Sinn Féin is in their corner, but the Government is on the opposite side. There is a reason those workers cannot get recognition and that is because the Government simply will not act.”
“She understood that we were stronger together, stronger against this anti-worker Government. We all know the best way for workers to protect or enhance their terms and conditions of employment is not just to join their trade union but to be active in their trade union. It is not our job as legislators to organise workers, that job falls to the people in the Gallery, but it is our job as legislators to create those conditions and that is exactly what this motion attempts to do. The Government’s countermotion is shameless and the Minister knows it is. He is shameless to come in here and try to propose it, but sure, of course, that is what he does. There is a reason Covalen does not recognise the Communication Workers Union, CWU. The main reason is because it does not have to.”
“I thank my colleagues, Deputies Conway-Walsh and Guirke, for bringing forward this motion this evening. I also want to welcome some of my former colleagues, friends of mine and, indeed, brothers and sisters in the Public Gallery. I will take this opportunity to wish the Leas Ceann Comhairle, everyone here and beyond a happy May Day for next Friday. Next Friday, I will join my dad, who was a union official, and we will march in the Dublin Council of Trade Unions' May Day march, as we have done every May Day. I do not think I have ever missed one and I highly doubt my dad has missed one either. As we march, we will remember my mam, who was a very dedicated and committed trade unionist for all of her life. She believed in the power of the unions. She understood the power of collective effort.”
“When I think about this consultation process and the way in which people have been sidelined and feel they have been ignored, I reflect on the number of reports and strategies that have been done. I put it to the Minister of State that rural Ireland does not lack reports or strategies; it lacks action from a Government that seems to be out of touch and indifferent to the lived reality of ordinary people. If a report, consultation or strategy document could change things, we would not be here. We would not be having this conversation because the change would happen but what will change things is action from the Government.”
“It suits the Government down to the ground to have a manufactured situation where rural dwellers are on one side and urban dwellers are on the other. It would suit the Government all the way to Sunday if that were to be the case and if people were to be taking potshots or squabbling with each other. The truth is the people who live in rural Ireland are being let down, failed and ignored by the Government every bit as much as the people who live in urban Ireland. That is a fact. We saw that on the streets of our capital city and the highways, byways and back roads of our towns and villages in recent weeks, just in case anyone in government was not listening. People were shouting loud enough, I hope, for the Government to hear. In the midst of that crisis, the Government arrived with half-measures for the town, city, townland and village.”
“I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. When I was coming in this morning, I was reflecting on this debate and what someone with an obvious city accent would say to people living in rural Ireland. However, the truth is, when you think about it - and the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, Deputy Clarke, knows something about this as well - there is more that unites us than divides us. The same challenges exist in the town and village as in the city. It is the same failing, tone-deaf, out of touch Government that governs in the village, the town and the city. It is the same refusal to acknowledge the lived reality of people, whether they live in the town, the village, the townland or the city, that is at the root of many issues facing people.”
“In the run in to this debate, I was contacted by many parents. It is really hard to fathom this. Their big worry is that their children will start with vapes because of easy accessibility. The intention is to do reduce that. The concern is that they will move from vapes into cigarette smoking. When I see adults with a vape, I know they are not going back to traditional cigarettes. They are trying to put a bit of distance between them and traditional cigarettes but idea that children will start vaping and then move on to smoking cigarettes is a big concern for parents. They want to make sure their children are protected from these harmful intoxicants, because that is what they are, but that there is work done to ensure they do not regress to being cigarette smokers.”
“When we say that these products are not for over 18s, we need be very clear about the damage that these products can do. That said, there are many people in my own family and community who tell me that being able to use the vape was a significant element in them being able to give up smoking. That cannot be ignored. That does not mean that we say the vapes are the be all and end all. I agree that we need to regulate where they are used. I do not like someone blowing vape smoke into my face. I do not know what is in it. If they want to take it, that is fine but I do not like it. We need to have a bit more regulation around it. When we are on a train, bus or plane, etc., it is very obvious as there are signs up. However, in some areas there is a bit of a grey area. We need to make sure that is regulated for the benefit of everybody.”
“I can say with my hand on my heart that I enjoyed every single one of them. It was torture to give up smoking but I am glad that I did every single day. It will be 20 years next January. I am glad that I did but that does not take away from the fact that I absolutely enjoyed every single one. When I had access to them as a young child - I should not have had access to them - they were single cigarettes that I could buy with a packet of matches. That is probably evidence of how old I am. Anything that acts an entry for children into that world of smoking, nicotine and tobacco consumption needs to be closed off. I can safely say that as a 12- and 13-year-old had I not been able to buy a single cigarette in the shop for 8 pence or 10 pence, then I definitely would not have been in a position to smoke.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this debate. We can all agree that the hallmark, and the calling card, of big tobacco and big tobacco companies is their deep pockets and their seemingly endless supply of marketing budgets. It is for that reason that I distrust a significant amount of what is termed as "evidence" that has been emailed to me this week in relation to vaping and vaping products, with people who are in the pocket of big tobacco telling me how harmless they are. When someone is telling me that over and over again, that makes me pause. That said, we could all say the same thing about alcohol but we have agreed as a State that 18 years old is where the cut off is and after that point, you make your own decisions. There has to be an element of us being sensible about this. I say that as a former very committed smoker.”
“I commend an Teachta Ó Snodaigh, the members of all of the campaign groups and the other parties that have signed this legislation. I really do hope that this time next year, or even in a couple of months' time, we will have this legislation passed and that the work will be done. We are all in agreement so there is literally nothing stopping us from doing this.”
“If the Minister is going to introduce his own Bill, that is grand. Let him do it quickly and we will work with him to ensure it is passed quickly. If he is not going to introduce his own legislation, I ask that he work with us on our legislation. It is rare to stand in the Dáil Chamber and find that everyone is agreeing with each other. However, we might look around afterwards and ask, even though we all stood here agreeing with each other, what was the end result? The end result has to be the quick passage of meaningful legislation so that what we all agree was a grave injustice can be righted for those people who were wrongly convicted. An apology is fine but the disregard is what people want. There was never an offence committed so there is no need for any pardon. A disregard is what is needed.”
“He said that there is anti-gay rhetoric building. We should do everything and anything we can, collectively as a Parliament and as a people, to call a halt to that. Passing this legislation sends a very clear signal not just to those people who are impacted and members of the LGBTQI+ community, but also to those people who seek to participate in the rise of homophobic rhetoric, anti-gay activity and all of that hate and awfulness. A pardon is not good enough. There must be a disregard. There was never any offence committed so there is nothing to be pardoned. There must be a disregard. We have to be absolutely unequivocal about that. There is cross-party support for this legislation. That can be seen. Other parties have signed it, which is really welcome. The Government has also indicated support for the legislation.”
“Everybody hugged each other and we all said "We did it." However, it was not done and it was not finished. We need to ensure that we bring everybody along and that we do not leave people like that young man behind or leave them with that stain, stigma or whatever word we might want to use. As we often say, there is still unfinished business. The discussion we are having this evening, prompted by an Teachta Ó Snodaigh and the campaign group, is very timely given that there has been a noticeable rise in homophobic attacks and abuse. That can be heard in the coarsening of language and seen online, including in that awful place, the manosphere. You also see high-profile people like Brendan Courtney talking about their own experiences. Mr. Courtney was attacked last year and he has talked about the rise of an anti-gay rhetoric.”
“However, if it is the case that his legislation is delayed or that there are blockages, there is legislation that can be worked on because that legislation was introduced this evening by an Teachta Ó Snodaigh. We will all remember the campaign for same-sex marriage in 2015. I know I do. I walked the legs off myself. We knocked on doors and we talked to people. In the main, I found that people's attitudes were good and positive. It surprised me that there were still some conservative elements and some people who had a lot of hate in their heart and who were not able to make that change. However, love is love, or however you want to put it, and there was a majority decision on that day. I was in the city centre and the celebrations were absolutely fantastic.”
“For most of his adult life he has had to carry and endure that stain. I hesitate to use that word because it should not be a stain or a stigma but that is effectively what was done to him. That was in 1992. Although it is historical, we are not talking about something that is ancient history. It is in our very recent past. It is very shocking to contemplate the fact that homosexuality was only decriminalised in 1993 and yet we have taken so many strides. However, when we take a step forward, we do not always look back to ensure we have tidied up and dealt with all of the consequences. In this instance, we clearly have not. I welcome the fact that the Minister has responded to the pressure put on by an Teachta Ó Snodaigh, by the campaign groups and by other parties here. It is very good that he is bringing forward his own legislation.”
“I thank my colleague, an Teachta Ó Snodaigh, and the LGBT+ Restorative Justice Campaign for all of the work they have done on this. I will read a newspaper article. It is very brief. A 24-year-old Blackrock man was remanded on his own bail today on a charge of gross indecency. He was arrested by Garda John McCormack in Fairview Park on January 6 and charged with "committing an act of gross indecency" with an Englishman in the park. Solicitor Maurice Walsh told Judge Thomas Fitzpatrick that there was no injured party as such, but that his client was "most abused" in the incident. The defendant was remanded to February 10 for reports and the DPP's direction. That was on 27 January 1992. It is quite hard to imagine this was so recent in our past. That was my first year in college. I was 18 years of age. That young man was 24.”
“I have information on population growth to back that up. It is not simply the case that I want more gardaí for my area simply because I know that it would be good. I have the statistics to back it up. I can show the Minister that there has been population growth. The increase in the number of gardaí has not matched that.”
“I will absolutely engage with him, with his officials and his office because I want to see a visible garda presence. His former colleague, former Deputy Farrell, has said Rush Garda station's closure has damaged the local community, leaving it feeling significantly less safe and less secure. The Minister should not take my word for it; rather, he should take that of his former colleague in government. I can refer to it not just because I live in the local area but also because the people who contact my offices in Balbriggan and Rush tell me so. It is true that people want additional gardaí and that very often TDs call for them in the Dáil, but I am seeking additional gardaí, additional infrastructure and the reopening of the Rush Garda station. Indeed, I am also seeking a station to serve Lusk.”
“That is very welcome. I have a wee suggestion, if the Minister does not mind. It comes from the petition that Ciara has circulated. As I said, it has been signed by more than 1,000 people. What they are seeking is a formal assessment by the Department of justice and An Garda Síochána of the policing needs of the Rush–Lusk area. The Minister will understand that while the number of gardaí working in the Dublin metropolitan region is fine and big, I am talking about the men and women working out of Balbriggan and Skerries, where the numbers are not sufficient to cover the entire area they are in charge of. The petition is also seeking the provision of a permanent full-time Garda station to serve the community. I am more than happy to take the Minister up on his offer.”
“The number of gardaí is not commensurate with the number of people in the area and most definitely is not keeping pace with the number of people living in Dublin Fingal West. We need Rush Garda station reopened. We need a Garda station to serve Lusk. We need Skerries Garda station back open properly, if the truth be told. We also need more gardaí for Balbriggan Garda station.”
“Lusk is the very same; there is no Garda station there. We have a problem because there are rising rates of antisocial behaviour and crime. My office is contacted weekly - sometimes more than that- by people saying they are having trouble contacting the guards. The Minister knows and I know the best deterrent against antisocial behaviour or any form of crime is a visible Garda presence and we do not have that in north County Dublin. More and more pressure is being put on Balbriggan Garda station and the numbers in the station are not sufficient for the 200 km radius it has to cover. The gardaí in the station do a fantastic job but are put to the pin of their collar trying to cover an ever-expanding area and ever-increasing population.”
“A young woman by the name of Ciara has started a community petition for the people of Lusk - Rush and Lusk are beside each other. She has said there are more than 1,000 signatures on that petition. She says she has lived in Lusk since 2004. Her children were born there and go to Lusk Community College. Lusk has quadrupled in size and the population is still increasing but there is no Garda station serving it so all the pressure is being put on Balbriggan Garda station. The Garda station in Rush was closed. It is now functioning as - I do not know what. When you look through the windows, all you see are boxes and boxes of files. There are never cars in the car park and I can tell the Minister for a red-hot fact there are no gardaí in it serving the people in the surrounding area who really need it.”