Last week, I referred to the matter of the C.I.E. mystery excursions and commented on suggestions that C.I.E. were considering abandoning them. I exhorted the Parliamentary Secretary to inform C.I.E. that the Department of Justice, through the Garda Síochána, would stand behind C.I.E. in the matter of protection, so that the ordinary people throughout the country can enjoy these mystery tours and that a small minority of blackguards will not be allowed in future to impose their will on the country and drive C.I.E. into abandoning these tours.
Last week, I also spoke of juvenile delinquency and said that, in my opinion, the only way to stop it was through adequate punishment. Something else that should be considered seriously is the fact that the Garda are the protectors of the people and that if and when Gardaí are brutally assaulted in the course of their duty, the people guilty of such assaults should be punished and not just reprimanded. Only too often such people come into the courts and apologise through their solicitors. There must be more co-operation by the courts in dealing severely with such people when they are brought before them.
It was suggested during the debate on this Estimate last week that there was no truth in statements that there was dissatisfaction in the Garda Síochána. Judging from what I have been told and from correspondence I have received, there is great dissatisfaction in the force at the present time. Much to the credit of the Garda, this dissatisfaction is being borne patiently. Deputy Lemass spoke of the implementation of the findings of the Garda Arbitration Board and the recommendations for the consolidation of the rent allowance with pay. The Minister also referred to it in his opening speech. My information is that the Garda got in the neighbourhood of £60 a year as a rent allowance and that if this were consolidated with the pay increase, it would be about £65. That did not amount to much as a pay increase— something like 2/- a week.
It is interesting to compare the rates of pay and allowances here with those in the Six Counties and in Britain. The comparison is very interesting when we concentrate on the rent allowances. Here the rent allowance alone amounts to about £60, that is, about 25/- a week. In the Six Counties, the rent allowance is £2 a week. Uniforms are provided free in the Six Counties and the boot allowance there is £7 16s. a year. In London, the rent allowance is £3 2s. 6d. a week and in the provinces in Britain, it is £2 2s. 6d. The Garda have a cycling allowance of £4 11s. a year and their boot allowance is £5 4s. a year.
These are comparisons to which I would strongly draw the Minister's attention. Instead of relying on arbitration boards, I would exhort the Minister, as a fair-minded man, to intervene personally and discuss these matters with representatives of the Garda. Recently a great number of letters have been appearing in the Garda Review, complaining about the type of accommodation the members of the force have to put up with. It is all very well to say that Garda stations have some very fine accommodation. There are some splendidly equipped stations in the country but there are twice as many which are not.
Another bone of contention is the matter of promotions in the Garda. Many people are under the impression that the people who were in the force at the beginning—the men who built it up—are being passed over in the matter of promotion. It is very important that an officer, or a sergeant, or an ordinary Garda for that matter, who has spent all his life in giving faithful and efficient service and in the building up of a magnificent force, should be able to retire after receiving the promotion he deserves.
Only recently promotion in the higher ranks was given to a man who was 41st on the list. There have been other promotions in the same way. This may be a new policy introduced by the Minister or his Department but I would remind them that a similar policy was introduced in the British police force nearly 40 years ago, after World War 1, and the fine officers, with long experience which made criminals known to them and also made known to them how to keep crime at bay were passed over. I think it was Lord Byng who became Commissioner in Great Britain at that time and he began to promote men who has come through the 1914-18 War and had come into the police force the quick way. The newspapers or the police force in Britain at the time named these men "The Byng Boys" after a famous London review.
As far as the criminals were concerned they had a wonderful time. The policy had to be changed: there was no substitute for the long experience of the tried officers. It was good for the force as a whole that every man should know that if he had given years of devotion to his calling as a police officer, promotion would be there for him. It is a source of great dissatisfaction that men now approaching the end of their time in the Garda are likely to have to come out without any chance of promotion.
A great many vacancies should be filled within the county. Promotions from sergeant to inspector should be given to senior sergeants with from 26 to 38 years' service. There are many very fine senior sergeants in the force who should not be passed over. This state of affairs does not apply in the Civil Service or any other service. It is not fair to pick out a junior man and promote him to inspector. That blocks promotion for 20 or 30 years. A junior who has joined the Garda and has only a few years' service has one great thing in his favour—he can afford to wait because he has youth. The senior man must go out after a couple of years. If he is promoted it means there will be promotion for somebody else in a short time. The Minister should consider that side of it.
In October, 1960, according to my information only five senior men were promoted while 11 juniors were promoted sergeants. I am told that of the many sergeants throughout the country 33 have passed the qualifying examination for inspectorship and 21 of them qualified fully in all subjects, including Irish, which might otherwise be brought up as an obstacle. The Minister should inquire into this: juniors are being promoted over the heads of seniors. Pay and allowances in the Garda must be overhauled in view of what is happening in Britain and other places. We shall not continue to get the fine type of young man to go into the Garda that we are now getting. The Minister may say there are more of them offering than the Depot needs; that may be so to-day but, as things are going, in a short time it could happen when the Garda come to recruit, they will not get the best.
After four years a Garda sergeant reaches a maximum of £14 a week. That is £10 to £15 less than the pay of his British or Northern Ireland counterpart who reaches a maximum of £24 15. after two years in the rank. That is a very serious difference, although I know we are not as rich as Britain.
The Garda conducted an investigation into traffic trends in Dublin. I believe that investigation was made at the behest of German experts who were brought here. I want the Minister to inquire into the qualifications of these German experts and not take it for granted that they are experts just because they come from Germany. I mentioned this last year, and, although I have not the report with me, I can tell the Minister from memory that the populations of Great Britain. France and Federal Germany are practically the same.
I have these figures from O.E.E.C. There were 5,000 people killed on the roads of Great Britain in 1959, 6,000 to 7,000 on the roads of France, and 13,000 on the roads of Federal Germany. Yet we send to Germany for people to come over here to tell us what to do about our traffic problem. I think the Germans ought to come here to ask us for help in stopping the slaughter on their own roads. I ask the Minister to investigate the qualifications of this gentleman.
On the Road Traffic Bill it was stated by several speakers, among them prominent members of my own Party, that 90 per cent. of the motorists on our roads are law-abiding. I make a count every time I leave my home to come to Dublin. I ask for the protection of St. Christopher, and many others, on the journey. I make my count to see how many escapes I have from reckless drivers—out on the whiteline, on the wrong side of the road, cutting in; I never get less than from seven to 10. If there is a race meeting, the figure goes up to twenty. We shall have to make these motorists pay attention and the only way we can do that is by prosecuting them. The only way we can catch them is by having road patrols, moving about in cars which are not easily identifiable and which are not manned by uniformed police. Some people may accuse the Department of Justice of permitting the Garda to have joy rides. I should like to see them having joy rides for the purpose of knocking some manners and some courtesy into the heads of the barbarians who are now using our roads.
I do not know how the Minister will tackle the problem of cyclists and pedestrians in Dublin. Dublin pedestrians are determined they will not give way to anyone. Their nerves must be very good. I have asked people from other countries what they think of our traffic and they tell me it is appalling. that they have never seen anything like it anywhere. Pedestrians and cyclists could not care less. They must say more fervent prayers to St. Christopher than I do because they always seem to escape the consequences of their folly. There are some who say that the schools should teach children road safety. The Garda have done an excellent job in lecturing in the schools. It is up to the parents to give the children some kind of instruction and good example.
I know the Minister will accord to me his usual courtesy by answering the questions I have asked. His example could be followed with advantage by some of his colleagues.