Gardaí should be recruited from among Irish emigrants to Australia, and members of the force allowed to work beyond the age of 60 instead of retiring, a TD has said.

Innovative thinking is needed to stop the rise in crime and the decline in garda numbers, according to Fianna Fáil justice spokesman Jim O’Callaghan.

Fianna Fáil’s Justice spokesperson Jim O’Callaghan has called for a change “in the terms and conditions” of garda recruitment in a bid to encourage people to join the force.

There was a recruitment crisis, there were 14,000 members of An Garda Síochána, the same level as 20 years ago while the population had increased significantly since then, he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.

In June of this year on the birthday of William Butler Yeats I was asked by Sandymount and Merrion Residents’ Association to recite one of Yeats’ poems in Sandymount Green.
I chose “Come Gather Round Me Parnellites” in memory of my late friend Frank Callanan who was a great Parnellite.

The hate crime bill could end up criminalising people because of ill-considered abusive comments made at the time of an offence, when in fact hatred did not motivate their offence; also the ‘other genders’ part of the bill needs revisiting

Myself and Fianna Fáíl have been calling for a while that we need a separate designated public transport unit within an Garda Síochána.

Jim O’Callaghan reacts to #DublinAfterDark documentary highlighting anti-social behaviour.

In recent days we have again seen horrific acts of violence perpetrated with knives.
Unfortunately, the possession of knives has become much more widespread in our society. This is a trend that needs to be reversed through legislative change and education.

You’ll be aware that 25 years ago, the Good Friday agreement was signed. It was a transformative agreement and it was an internationally recognized agreement of importance and it really changed politics on this island for the better.

And although we still have very many ongoing problems with politics in Northern Ireland, those of you here who are my age or older will recall how great things have got since that agreement no longer.

Do we wake up in the morning time, hearing about people being lost, been murdered, have been killed in violence.

And I suppose one of the singular achievements of the Good Friday Agreement is that there’s no acceptance throughout this country amongst all political parties and organizations that violence is unacceptable for the purpose of trying to achieve political objectives.

“My ultimate political aspiration remains the coming together of all the people of Ireland achieved peacefully and by consent.”

A couple of years ago, I drafted a new law about the parole process.
It’s now an operation.
If you or a family member where the victim of a serious crime that resulted in a life sentence, you can now have a say in whether the person who committed that crime should get early parole.
You’ll also, as a victim of crime, get legal aid to support you in that process.
Under the legislation, you, the victim or the victim’s family can make submissions to the parole board so that your voice can be heard when the perpetrators application for parole is being considered.
If you want to be involved in this process, a victim registration form is available online from the parole board.
You should have your say.

Jim O’Callaghan TD