Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 4 Jul 2001

Vol. 540 No. 2

Garda Deployment.

Mr. Crawford

I welcome the opportunity to raise this important issue. That gardaí in the Clones area discovered a number of bombs, at least one of which was ready for action, in addition to command wires and other bomb-making equipment indicates the necessity for a strong Garda presence in County Monaghan which has the longest border of any county in Northern Ireland. The discovery of £56,000 worth of drugs in the same area suggests that the same paramilitary group may be dealing in both cannabis and ecstasy tablets to raise funds for their war. Few of us are in any doubt about the connections which existed in the past between drug barons and the use of arms.

Is it not extraordinary that at this time, proposals are being advanced to break up the current Cavan-Monaghan division which serves all of County Monaghan, all of Cavan with the exception of the Darra and Blacklion areas which are separated physically by the Cuilcagh mountains, and small parts of Leitrim, Meath, Westmeath and Longford which physically, culturally and socially align with various districts in County Cavan?

The present division was established at the time of the State's foundation. Cavan and Monaghan and parts of Leitrim have been at the centre of successful police action to combat the activities of subversives, north and south of the Border. Not only has the division served the people of Cavan and Monaghan, it has been instrumental in keeping the institutions of the State intact. The Cavan-Monaghan division is a similar entity to the political constituency of Cavan-Monaghan and has had one of the highest crime detection rates in the State over the past 30 years. It is ironic that at a time when efforts are being made to integrate the police and local communities in Northern Ireland, the Minister appears to be moving in the opposite direction.

I understand there are plans at senior Garda management level to change divisional boundaries without any consultation with members of the force, external agencies or the public. The preferred option of senior Garda management is the establishment of divisional headquarters in Dundalk for a new Louth-Monaghan division. Monaghan would, in that event, be reduced to the level of district headquarters.

In a written reply on 26 June to a parliamentary question on Monaghan Garda headquarters, the Minister advised that "there are no plans to upgrade this station or remove any of its existing responsibilities at this time". The words "at this time" concern me. Will the Minister give me a commitment that the Monaghan Garda headquarters are permanent? Over the past four years, Monaghan town has experienced the loss of St. Patrick's Agricultural College, Patten's Mill, the temporary and possibly permanent closure of the maternity unit in the local hospital, the closure of the local swimming pool and the closure of Castleblayney military barracks.

Any proposal the Garda Commissioner may have in this regard will be considered by the Minister's Department. He must make sure the divisional headquarters remains in Monaghan, otherwise there will be a 40% reduction in the permanent strength of the Garda at Monaghan headquarters.

Monaghan, as a divisional headquarters, has 40% to 50% of its staff providing specialist services and its level of operational staff is higher than the level of a district headquarters, but if that was to change, no doubt 40 to 50 members of its staff would be lost to Dundalk over time, and that would severely impact on the economy of the area.

Is this a further effort by the Government to provide extra jobs in an area where there are Ministers? The Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, has ensured that social welfare offices will be based in Dundalk and the IDA has located factories in Dundalk, but not in Monaghan.

The old Garda barracks in Monaghan was restructured to provide offices for staff from the Departments of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and Social, Community and Family Affairs, but only local social welfare and existing farm building sections of the Departments use them. Inspectors or extra staff from the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs did not move into them.

If the new plans being prepared behind closed doors were implemented, I have no doubt they would have a major impact on the Cavan-Monaghan region, possibly leading to the closure of barracks and the further removal of gardaí from rural areas, never mind towns, at night.

Ballybay, for instance, has to depend on gardaí in Castleblayney at night and if problems arose in the early hours of the morning in Ballybay and similar problems arose in Castleblayney, the people of Ballybay would have to wait.

I depend on the Minister to make sure that nothing more is downgraded in Monaghan. In light of the bombs and all that happened in the Border region, I beg him to make sure that he does not allow this to happen.

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

I welcome this opportunity to deal with the point raised by the Deputy about the need to reassess the requirements of the gardaí in the Border region in light of the threat posed by terrorist organisations.

I will deal with the issue of Garda strength. As the Deputy will appreciate, I am responsible for the overall provision of resources to the Garda Síochána, while the Garda authorities are responsible for the detailed allocation of personnel and resources to individual areas. In respect of overall resources provided to the gardaí, the House will be well aware that since I took office the strength of the force has increased consistently. It has gone up from a figure of 10,800 in 1997 to a current situation where the number of gardaí now exceeds 11,600. Last year, the Government approved my proposals for a further Garda recruitment competition. This latest recruitment competition will fulfil the commitment in the Programme for Government to increase the strength of the force to 12,000.

As well as increasing the strength of the force, I have provided additional financial resources. The provision in the Garda Vote when I took office was £457 million, while the provision for this year is more than £690 million. This is a significant increase by any standards.

It can be safely stated that never in the history of the State have more resources been allocated to combating crime, purchasing modern technology and equipment for the Garda Síochána and ensuring that the number of Garda personnel is increased. Furthermore, never in the history of the State have we had such a major prison building programme to ensure that those convicted of crime serve their sentences.

With regard to the question of the Garda strength in the Border region, the Garda divisions of Donegal, Sligo-Leitrim, Cavan-Monaghan and Louth-Meath police the Border. I am informed by the Garda authorities that the manpower strength of these divisions as at 4 July 2001 was 430, 263, 384 and 535, respectively. This represents a combined total of 1,612. I should also point out that these figures refer to manpower permanently assigned to the divisions in question and do not include members temporarily assigned because of the foot and mouth disease crisis. I am further informed that Garda management is satisfied that the resources available in the region are adequate to deal with security issues that arise.

The level of Garda manpower assigned throughout the area in question, together with overall policing arrangements and operational strategy, are continually monitored and reviewed. Such monitoring ensures that optimum use is made of Garda resources, and the best possible Garda service is provided to the general public.

Garda management will continue to appraise the policing and administrative strategy employed in the area with a view to ensuring that an effective Garda service is maintained. When additional manpower next becomes available, the Deputy can be assured that the needs of the various divisions on the Border will be fully considered within the overall context of the need of Garda districts throughout the country.

As I informed the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Deputy O'Hanlon, there is no proposal to downgrade the Garda station in Monaghan, nor are there are any proposals to close any Garda stations in County Monaghan. My ambition is to try to ensure Monaghan and Cavan, which are in the one constituency, benefit from the increase in the number of Garda Síochána and from the increased resources that have been made available to them and that they will have an enhanced role in policing within the relevant district.

I take this opportunity to warmly congratulating and thank the gardaí in the Border regions for all the work they have done together with their colleagues who were drafted in to combat the foot and mouth disease crisis.

I assure Deputy Crawford, as I previously assured the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, that there is no question of me having any proposals to adversely interfere with the Garda Síochána or Garda stations in Cavan-Monaghan.