Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald on Wednesday branded Dublin’s inner city unsafe and called for increased deployment of Gardai on the streets, in the aftermath of the death of the Canadian tourist who was assaulted brutally last month.
Speaking in the Dail, leader of the oppositon McDonald slammed the government over its inaction.
“The reality on the ground is that there is not high visibility policing in Dublin’s inner city. It’s not there,” McDonald said. “The people who live in Dublin’s inner city will tell you that Gardai are stretched beyond belief. They will tell you that they don’t feel safe. They will tell you there are incidents and when they make that call the response time is far far too slow. That’s the reality,” the Sinn Fein leader said.
She further stated that such incidents will happen again unless there is a “real step-change” from the government.
“We need more Gardai on the streets and real investment in communities,” she added.
On Tuesday, the 41-year-old Canadian tourist, who was assaulted in Dublin city centre in the early hours of June 23, passed away in hospital. He had sustained injuries and was taken to the Mater Hospital.
Four persons have been arrested in connection with the incident.