Dara Calleary
Question:80. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Justice the way in which policing in rural areas is being strengthened; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16201/22]
View answerTuesday, 29 March 2022
Questions (80)
Oral answers (6 contributions)
Tá mé ag iarraidh a fháil amach cad é plean an Rialtais le haghaidh cúrsaí póilíneachta faoin tuath. I want to discuss rural policing plans as we move out of the pandemic towards much more activity in areas that have not seen such for two years. I also want to address what seems a theme of the evening, namely, the fears in rural communities around policing at this stage.
I thank the Deputy for raising the important matter of policing in rural areas and how it is being strengthened. The Government is committed to ensuring that there is strong, visible community policing across rural and urban Ireland. Under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including Garda operations aimed at preventing and detecting crime. As Minister of State, I have no direct role in these matters.
This year’s winter phase of Operation Thor was launched by the Garda in October 2021 and is designed to tackle burglaries and associated criminal activities, which often increase in the darker winter months, through targeted enforcement and crime prevention activity and information. This annual focus from Operation Thor has proved highly successful in tackling property-related crime since its inception in November 2015. In 2015, there were in excess of 18,800 residential burglaries reported. By contrast, in 2021 there were just over 6,000 residential burglaries reported, a reduction of over 66% or approximately 13,000 fewer burglaries. While the Covid-19 pandemic was clearly a factor in the reduction, with people more likely to be present in their homes throughout the day, there has been a marked and consistent downward trend in such offences since the introduction of this Garda focus through Operation Thor.
The budget provided by Government to the Garda Commissioner continues to increase to unprecedented levels, with an allocation of more than €2 billion for 2022, including funding for recruitment of up to 800 additional Garda trainees and up to 400 Garda staff. I am glad to confirm that over 10,000 applications have been received, which shows a commitment to public service and a belief in An Garda Síochána.
In addition to new recruits, the roll-out of the new Garda operating model will support the redeployment of gardaí from non-core duties to front-line policing across the country. My Department has for many years provided funding for the employment and associated costs of the national community alert programme, including the employment of regional development officers. In 2021, my Department committed in the region of €150,000 to local communities for the text alert scheme administered by Muintir na Tíre.
I think this might be the tenth year of Operation Thor. Can the Minister of State give an indication of the changes made to the operational detail of Operation Thor over that period to account for new trends?
Of the new gardaí, how many are being positioned in rural counties or rural areas? I acknowledge that the operation of An Garda Síochána is a matter for the Commissioner but I am concerned by the new operational model which, for instance, combines Longford, Roscommon and my native county of Mayo into one unit in terms of local division management. That, going from Blacksod to Mullingar, is a huge area. It has taken some management out of it. Will the Minister of State give assurances that the model will not result in a reduction in policing?
I acknowledge the huge work put in by An Garda Síochána in the Tom Niland case, which is before the courts. Massive effort was put in by gardaí, led by Superintendent Mandy Gaynor. Even though it was in Sligo, it was just down the road from my area and highlighted the concerns in rural areas about the need for greater visibility of enforcement on the ground. Will the Minister of State respond to that?
In relation to the new model for An Garda Síochána, all aspects of its implementation are a matter for the Garda Commissioner. The Mayo division was selected by the Garda authorities as one of the four pilot divisions for the new operating model. The new model is designed to provide four functional areas in each division, namely, business services, performance assurance, community engagement and crime.
Castlebar Garda station is the location for the business service functional area, which provides business support for Mayo, Roscommon and Longford. To date, following the pilot, 17 of the 19 divisions have now commenced a phased implementation of business services. In 2022, the implementation of the business service functional area will continue across the divisions and the phased implementation of the performance assurance functional area will commence in divisions that have fully implemented the business services functional area.
On the number of gardaí being assigned to the Mayo division, again the Garda Commissioner is solely responsible for the distribution of members of An Garda Síochána throughout the State and remains independent in that role under legislation.
Community engagement is key and it must be more than just phrases on a ministerial brief. I acknowledge Joe Doherty, based in Ballina, who has just retired as a superintendent in the Mayo division. Community engagement was essential to his form of policing. I thank him for his service. A prior discussion focused on the community safety partnerships. I am concerned. I am a fan of the joint policing committees. They work and involve rural communities, through their local elected representatives, be they councillors or Members of the Oireachtas, having a say about policing issues in their areas. It is about the connection. I need assurance that that connection will not be lost in these new community safety partnerships. The joint policing committees, especially in large counties such as mine, have worked well. They worked well too when they were under the town council structure, keeping an eye on the towns. I am concerned that the move to these new community safety partnerships will take away another part of the supports for rural communities in respect of their day-to-day policing.
Regarding the new community safety partnerships, I think they will prove to be the complete opposite and will greatly strengthen the role in this regard in rural communities. They will do so by strengthening the pace of engagement with An Garda Síochána, the various representative organisations and the local authorities to ensure that there is not just accountability and transparency, but also an effectiveness in respect of getting results on the ground and the changes required.
Regarding An Garda Síochána and the Garda Commissioner being independent, it is not simply a phrase; it is the law. Neither the Department of Justice nor Ministers can interfere with how the Garda Commissioner engages in that level of operation and in the distribution of An Garda Síochána resources, as he sees the need for that to be done. I assure the Deputy that the steps being taken in respect of the record funding for An Garda Síochána, the increase in the number of gardaí who will now be trained and the increase in the number of Garda civilian staff, which will release gardaí from administrative duties and get them back to front-line work, will help to strengthen the role of An Garda Síochána and make people safer in urban and rural areas.