Rabbite labels McDowell comments “intolerant tantrum”

The Labour Leader Pat Rabbitte has dubbed the Justice Minister’s attack on Richard Bruton today as an “intolerant tantrum” and said he is fooling himself over the number of gardaí in Dublin.

Mr Bruton said that the number of gardaí in the capital had increased by only two last year according to official Government figures.

However, Mr McDowell angrily insisted that garda numbers in the city have consistently risen during his term in office.

He accused Mr Bruton and Fine Gale of deliberately trying to suppress information supplied last year on the strength of Garda numbers.

But Mr Rabbitte said that Michael McDowell’s heated comments cannot conceal the fact that the greater Dublin area only got only two extra Gardai in 2005.

He said the number of gardaí allocated to Tallaght in his own constituency, fell from 173 to 167 in 2005.