Day 11 : #GE16 Standing Up for Safer Communities

Posted on February 13, 2016 at 11:17 AM

Today we launched our plan for community policing and reform of justice with Minister Aodhán Ó Ríordáin , Deputy Joe Costello , Senators Lorraine Higgins and Máiría Cahill .

[You can read our Standing Up for Safer Communities plan here]

Minister Aodhán Ó Ríordáín spoke about  our plan to indroduce a new and comprehensive approach to dealing with drug addicition - "We will put the Drugs Cort on a statutory footing and expand its remit. We must also ensure that the resources of the criminal justice system are targeted at drug pushers and those that wish to damage our communities, not their victims."

An tAire @AodhanORiordain ag caint faoi acmhainní na Gardaí. #GE16 pic.twitter.com/sMU89lAlvg

— The Labour Party (@labour) February 13, 2016

As a candidate in Galway East, Lorraine Higgins knows the effects that crime has on both our rural and urban communities. "People in all parts of Ireland, rural and urban want to feel safe and secure in their homes. I have always been of the view that we need more Gardaí in rural areas. The reopening ofthe Garda College in Templemore in 2014 was a clear statement of intent by this Government that the process of downgrading of the force started by the Fianna Fáil Governemnt would be reveresed."

People in all parts of Ireland urban and rural want to feel safe and secure in their own homes. - @LorHiggins #GE16 pic.twitter.com/YKsDUAw2le

— The Labour Party (@labour) February 13, 2016

Deputy Joe Costello spoke about how we are going to invest further in Garda resources "We will recruit an additional 700 Gardaí each year to return the force to peak levels of over 14,500 and we will free up a further 1,000 Gardaí for frontline duty by recrutiing the same number of civilian staff to make sure our Gardaí are spending their time on the streets of our communities."

Sinn Féin claims gang land crime does not exist the rest of us are in no doubt about the scale of organised crime- @JoeCostelloTD #GE16

— The Labour Party (@labour) February 13, 2016

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