Batt O'Keeffe
Question:61 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice if she intends to implement the long-term changes that the Garda Síochána identifies as being of immediate urgency. [1699/96]
Written Answers. - Changes in Garda Síochána.
It is not clear from the question what long-term changes the Deputy is referring to. I presume that it is those referred to in the Corporate Strategy Policy Document 1993-1997 for the Garda Síochána which was presented to the then Minister in 1993.
There have been many significant changes since the document was published on policy, operational and administrative strategies in the force. I propose to outline some of these and to refer to the current status of the corporate strategy document. A total of 1,050 gardaí are being recruited between 1995 and 1997. An IT plan for the Garda Síochána is being implemented at present at a cost of approximately £26 million. An automated fingerprinting identification system was installed at Garda Headquarters in December 1995. A CCTV system was established in the Temple Bar area of Dublin on a pilot basis and it is intended, following a review of this project, to extend it to other areas. A policy of performance development and review was introduced for the force in February 1994. A tenure of post policy was introduced in August 1995. The National Bureau of Fraud Investigation was established in April 1995. A Garda National Drugs Unit was established in July 1995 under the control of a deputy commissioner. The number of youth diversion projects in operation in urban areas has been increased from two in 1994 to seven at present. Additional funding has been provided to replace the Garda fleet on a five-year cycle. In January of this year, a regional command structure was created within the Garda Síochána. This was the first major change to the organisational structure of the force since the foundation of the State. The reorganisation of the force on a regional basis will provide for a much more co-ordinated and cohesive approach in tackling, on an operational basis, all facets of crime.