Vol. 560 No. 5
2 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will reconsider the decision to abandon the commitment to recruit an additional 2,000 gardaí and the imposition of a cap of 12,500 on membership of the force, in view of the serious increase in crime in many parts of the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3042/03]
The current actual strength of the Garda Síochána stands at approximately 11,900. The Cabinet has authorised me to make the greatest possible use of the existing capacity of the Garda training college over the next two years to bring the strength of the force to 12,200, which is its current authorised maximum strength. While it will not be possible to increase numbers beyond that point for as long as the cap on public service numbers remains in place, the current level represents an all-time record level of strength for the force.
I am committed to supporting the Garda Síochána in every way possible in tackling crime, not only through increasing Garda numbers but also by facilitating and promoting change and reform – both within the force and in the criminal justice system in general – aimed at meeting the challenges of present day crime. I am, for example, finalising proposals for legislative change to significantly improve Garda powers of criminal investigation, and I already have before this House a Bill to improve the law on public order. I also believe the increased use of technology can free up resources and enhance efficiency and effectiveness. The PULSE system has already made a significant contribution to Garda effectiveness, but I believe there is considerable potential for greater use of technology across the range of criminal justice agencies. I intend to announce a development in this regard in the near future.
There is a range of factors that determine the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. I will not be content with raising the strength of the Garda Síochána to an historic high of 12,200. This figure will rise again, as soon as budgetary circumstances permit, so that the Government to make progress towards the target of 14,000 provided in the programme for Government for achievement by 2007. I want those resources, and the resources of the entire criminal justice system, used effectively to combat crime. I hope and believe I will have the support of the House for the measures I will be bringing forward to achieve that.
The Minister has, as usual, simply avoided the question and waffled on about other matters. What happened to the commitments of his party, Fianna Fáil and those contained in the programme for Government to recruit an additional 2,000 gardaí? When this matter was last discussed, it was against a background of an alarming rise in crime figures that had shown a 93% increase in violent crimes and an all-time high of 62 homicides in a year. Matters have deteriorated considerably in the interim. Does the Minister agree that Limerick was under siege for a full week and that the entire country was in the grip of terror with gangland feuding that had run out of control? When the Minister of State said there was no problem in that there were plenty of resources, the Minister eventually had to bring in the emergency response unit. Likewise, in relation to Shannon, the policing was not adequate and the Minister had to bring in the Army.
A question, please.
When will the promised additional 2,000 gardaí be recruited? Significant damage has been done to the national psyche because of people's belief that the Minister is not able to ensure the safety and security of our people.
The two Government parties have made it their policy to increase the strength of the Garda Síochána to 14,000, which is 1,800 more than its current authorised strength—
That is what the Minister promised.
—over the lifetime of this Government.
There is no mention in the programme of that being over the lifetime of the Government.
Yes, there is. If the Deputy checks this out, he will find—
The Minister is not telling the truth.
I do not know why the Deputy interrupts every time he asks a question.
If the Minister were to tell me the truth—
It is most certainly the position. The Deputy is still interrupting.
On a point of order, I checked the Government programme—
That is not a point of order.
The Deputy is wasting his own time.
Allow the Minister to answer the question.
On a point of order, I checked the Government programme before coming to the House and there is no reference in this regard to a period of five years or to any such condition, which the Minister has said.
That is not a point of order. I ask the Deputy to resume his seat and allow the Minister to answer the question.
What is written is a simple statement of commitment by the Government to the recruitment of an additional 2,000 gardaí.
Unfortunately, the Deputy has an extremely short memory or else he is suffering from political amnesia because—
I am literate; I can read.
There the Deputy goes interrupting again. Does he want any answers?
I am not getting them.
I stood here less then two months ago and told the Deputy, in the clearest possible terms, how it would take time to achieve all these things, what the capacity of Templemore College is and what I could and could not do without expanding its size. I told him all that but he seems to have forgotten it.
A cap of 12,500 is being put on the membership.
The Garda emergency response unit is just that; it is not Dublin based. It is not simply available in Dublin. It goes to any part of the country where the Commissioner regards its presence as necessary. Its presence in any part of the country in any particular circumstance is not evidence that that part of the country is under-policed.
The number of members of the Garda Síochána per capita in Limerick is higher than average, not lower and the situation in Limerick, to which the Deputy referred, is not, and never was, an issue of Garda numbers.
Given the physical configuration of Shannon Airport, it is impossible to position a garda every 20 metres to stop demonstrators getting onto that campus. The Garda Commissioner has invoked the Army in aid of the civil power and that decision has been made because of the particular geographical circumstances that surround Shannon Airport. In the absence of high security fencing of Shannon's 6.7 mile perimeter, it is about as possible to secure it by fencing as it is to fence in the Curragh of Kildare.
