Adjournment Debate. - Garda Deployment. – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – Tuesday, 6 Nov 2001

Adjournment Debate. - Garda Deployment.

Mr. Rabbitte:

I thank your office, a Cheann Comhairle, for giving me this opportunity to raise the important issue of inadequate policing in the Tallaght region. I am glad the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is in the House to respond to this serious issue in my part of Dublin.

In 1997 the decision was made to accord divisional status to Tallaght. Ridiculous as it may seem, until that point Tallaght was a sub-division of Crumlin for policing purposes. The Minister's last reply stated that Tallaght has a population of 101,000. The purpose of affording divisional status to the Tallaght region at the time of the rainbow Government was to enable greater resources to be put at the disposal of the local gardaí in terms of the policing demands of the region. Normally with divisional status comes extra manpower, vehicles and resources to reflect the divisional status of that region.

There are 101,000 people in a complex area in terms of policing demands, yet the Minister's last reply to me stated that there are 157 gardaí in the area. Can one imagine the demands of three shift working five over seven days with 157 gardaí? The last time I raised this issue with the Minister we got five extra gardaí, which I thank him for and welcome. Every time I raise this issue we get extra gardaí, yet there are still only 157 gardaí there. Limerick, for example, has a smaller population yet, according to the Minister's last reply to me, it has 446 gardaí. How can that be justified? How can 157 people be expected in the conditions of modern society to police a region of more than 100,000 people on three shift working five over seven with the demands of turning up in court, etc.?

There is a serious problem in my area of Dublin. I say with a heavy heart that young people are losing confidence in and respect for the gardaí. That is due in no small part to the fact that law abiding citizens cannot get a garda when they need one. I do not mean this in a disrespectful way to the Minister, but this is not rural Ireland. Rural Ireland has many positive things going for it, but it does not have the policing complexity of a region like west Dublin or my own in Tallaght. There are serious demands and if they are not met, others will come forward to fill the vacuum. That has happened in Tallaght in recent years. Others came forward in areas which were not policed or policed inadequately – speeding through an estate in a squad car is not an answer to policing – and made a name for themselves while posing as the defenders of the people when law abiding citizens could not get gardaí to respond to their distress.

I am sad that we have not made any great strides on the question of community policing. I would like to see more gardaí devoted to policing these communities on foot and meeting and getting to know the people there. That cannot be done when the first people to be sent to the Border or to man foot and mouth exigencies are the community police.

I plead with the Minister to explain what has happened the building that was supposed to be built or extended to accommodate the new divisional status. There is still no sign of that building starting after four and a half years. I have suggested to the Minister privately that the piece of ground there has great development capacity in line with the architecture of the Tallaght town square and, at the same time, it would provide modern comfortable facilities for an adequate police force in the area.

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

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and affording me the opportunity to explain the latest position with regard to Tallaght Garda station.

The current position is that plans to provide substantial additional accommodation at Tallaght station are at an advanced stage. A revised sketch scheme for the work has been received from the Office of Public Works and is being examined by the Garda authorities from the point of view of meeting their needs. While I appreciate the Deputy's concern in relation to Tallaght station and the fact that it has taken some time to advance the building project, and I share that concern, it must be borne in mind that the resources available to cover Garda accommodation are limited and that priorities have to be set in progressing Garda building projects.

In the general context of providing proper facilities for all gardaí to serve the public, the Government has significantly increased the allocation for capital works from £7 million in 1997 to £19.5 million in 2000. Since 1998 in excess of £51 million has been allocated in the Office of Public Works Vote for capital works on Garda properties. In anyone's language, that is a substantial sum of money. Similarly, since 1998 a sum of just under £21 million has been secured in the Garda Vote for the necessary maintenance works to Garda stations and I increased this allocation from £3.37 million in 1997 to £7.1 million for 2000.

The gardaí occupy 703 Garda stations and other units of accommodation around the coun try, including married quarters, large complexes like Templemore and Garda headquarters and a variety of smaller units. Many of the buildings occupied by them were built before the foundation of the State and were designed for a different era. This extensive resource, while invaluable in guaranteeing the provision of police services to the community, creates its own unique maintenance and refurbishment demands. Consequently, all Garda accommodation is continually under review to ensure it meets the operational requirements of the force. Where it does not, then the necessary works are prioritised and completed with the appropriate degree of urgency.

I confirm to Deputy Rabbitte that I am anxious to expedite the transfer of Garda divisional functions to Tallaght as quickly as possible. In that regard my Department, in conjunction with the other parties involved, particularly the Garda authorities and the Office of Public Works, is making every effort to ensure that the necessary new works will be carried out with the minimum of delay.

Mr. Deenihan:

I am glad the Minister is here this evening to reply to this issue. There is widespread and genuine concern among the public and gardaí in Tralee following a number of assaults on Garda personnel in recent weeks. As a result, six gardaí are on long-term sick leave. Last Wednesday night, Hallowe'en night, a female garda received hospital treatment after being set upon and a male colleague was bitten and had to receive seven stitches. This is not acceptable and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

Tralee is a growing urban centre with a population of more than 20,000 people. This is swelled by more than 3,000 students who attend the local institute of technology for eight months of the year. Tralee has also become a popular destination for weekenders who come to Tralee for the night life and its reputation as a fun town. Tourist numbers visiting Tralee have grown considerably since the early 1990s. Almost one million tourists now visit Tralee during the year. Despite the economic boom, Tralee is still a blackspot as regards employment opportunities. All these factors and more contribute to making the town a more difficult place to police than previously and demands greater investment in terms of manpower and other resources than is currently the case.

There are 70 gardaí attached to Tralee Garda station. They are assigned to various duties. Eight members are in the traffic corps which covers the entire county and, as the population of County Kerry doubles for most of the tourist season, they are kept very busy and cannot be reassigned to other duties. There are ten gardaí in the detective branch investigating serious crime and three are in the drugs squad. There are two collators, a number of crime prevention officers and district clerks and two gardaí are confined to the PULSE programme.

That leaves six gardaí to police Tralee at night when young people are on the streets and there is a greater threat of public disorder. Most of the time there are only two gardaí on the beat in the town with two on patrol in a squad car while the remaining two are engaged in community policing duties in the large housing estates. The squad car is regularly deployed to places such as Dingle, Ardfert, Fenit, Abbeydorney and Castlegregory in the Minister's constituency after 2 a.m. Most people are spilling out onto the streets from pubs and it is at this time that there is the greatest need for a Garda presence in Tralee. The gardaí on duty could be called out to far away towns and there are no back-up services or resources available for the unfortunate, isolated gardaí who are left behind to police the town when a large number of revellers are on the streets. Usually people become boisterous and public disorder results. It is not acceptable.

The chief superintendent in Tralee recently stated in The Irish Examiner:

I would be very disturbed that our members should be subjected to attack, particularly injury. But because of the type of work we do, it can occur on occasions and while we try to minimise such problems, we can't always anticipate them.

The people of Tralee and the gardaí who work there are disturbed. It is up to the Minister, Deputy O'Donoghue, as the local representative and the man who made so much of the concept of zero tolerance, to put policing arrangements in place in Tralee and provide proper and adequate resources so that the Garda authorities can ensure there are foot patrols on the street and gardaí are not vulnerable to attack, which is totally unacceptable. Gardaí are also receiving intimidatory telephone calls at their homes and are put under other pressures by criminals on the streets of Tralee. I appeal to the Minister to act.

Mr. O'Donoghue:

I welcome this opportunity to set out for the benefit of the House the resources being made available to the Garda in Tralee. The Deputy asked if I would provide the necessary resources to support the Garda in Tralee. As the Deputy will appreciate I am responsible, as Minister, 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.

When the Government took office we gave a simple commitment in regard to Garda strength. We said we would increase the strength of the force to 12,000 and we have delivered on that commitment. By the end of next year, the strength of the Garda will stand at 12,000, the highest ever in the history of the State. The result will be an increase of 1,200 gardaí since I took office. I am proud we have fulfilled this commitment and kept our promise to the Irish people.

As regards the deployment of those gardaí, I have been assured by the Garda authorities that the level of Garda manpower assigned to various areas, 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 public. As well as increasing the strength of the force, I have also 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.

Never in the history of the State have more resources been allocated to combating crime, purchasing modern technology and equipment for the Garda and ensuring that the number of Garda personnel is increased. Furthermore, never in the history of the State has there been such a major prison building programme to ensure those convicted of crime serve their sentences. I have been informed by the Garda authorities that the personnel strength – all ranks – at Tralee Garda station is 86. This compares with a strength of 76 in 1997. As the Deputy can see, there has been an increase of ten in the number of gardaí assigned to the station.

I have been in contact with the Garda Commissioner regarding policing in Tralee and he has indicated that, following local discussions, extra gardaí will be deployed on the streets in the town at critical periods as and when required. In that context, the Deputy will be interested that the number of gardaí assigned to the Kerry division has increased since 1997 from 233 to 251.

As regards policing arrangements, I am informed that the town and its 58 housing estates are regularly patrolled by gardaí on foot, motorcycle or in patrol cars. In addition, there are three community policing schemes which cover most of the housing estates, with one garda attached full time to each scheme and 31 neighbourhood watch and five community alert schemes, all of which have a liaison garda.

I am strongly of the view that intervening with young people at risk of falling into anti-social and criminal lifestyles is a very necessary and worthwhile investment. I have made £180,000 available to date for the CONNECT 7 youth diversion project in Tralee. I have no doubt this project is paying dividends in diverting young people away from trouble. As the Deputy can see, the Garda in Tralee is involved with the community across a range of initiatives. All this brings gardaí into regular and ongoing contact with the people they serve and reinforces and enhances the already excellent relationship between the gardaí and the community.

While the number of indictable crimes reported for County Kerry in 1996 was 1,536, by 1999 this figure had fallen to 1,357, a decrease of 179 offences or 6%. The detection rate in County Kerry is 48%, making it significantly higher than the national average of 42% and one of the highest in the country.

Before concluding I would like to comment on reported remarks made, in the context of crime in Tralee, about female gardaí not being able to cope with certain cases. Let me say loud and clear that female gardaí play a vital role across the full range of policing tasks. I am in no doubt that we have a more effective, attuned and responsive police service since women began to join the Garda in large numbers. I would be concerned – I am sure the Deputy will join me in this – if the message was to go out that female gardaí are not, as one newspaper headline quoted, "up to the job". This is certainly not the case.

Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 6 Nov 2001