EU Presidency.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 May 2004

Wednesday, 5 May 2004

Ceisteanna (6)

Jan O'Sullivan

Ceist:

6 Ms O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to concerns expressed by the chairman of the National Safety Council that the diversion of gardaí to policing EU Presidency events may have contributed to the increased death rate on the roads in recent months; the total Garda man hours devoted to Presidency related matters since 1 January 2004 in view of the confirmation by Deputy Commissioner Murphy that Garda resources had been diverted away from traffic duties to deal with Presidency events; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12673/04]

Freagraí ó Béal (13 píosaí cainte)

Mr. McDowell

On the general question of Garda resources, I am committed to providing the Garda Síochána with the means to provide an effective policing service. This year's Garda budget, at more than €1.054 billion, represents an increase of 9.5% on last year's budget, a significant increase at any time but especially significant when careful control has had to be exercised over increases in public spending. The increase is ahead of the overall general trend of increases in public spending which is of the order of 6%. This year's budget provides in particular for an increase of approximately €7 million in overtime which translates directly into more gardaí on duty to enforce the law, including road traffic law.

On the question of the EU Presidency, it is of course the case that meetings here of EU Ministers necessarily impose security and policing demands on the Garda Síochána. While this is an unavoidable part of our duties as holders of the EU Presidency, I was conscious from the outset of the impact these demands could have on day-to-day policing. Special provision of approximately €8.5 million was made in the Garda budget this year to deal with the security and policing demands of the EU Presidency, of which €7.5 million was set aside for Garda overtime. The purpose of the special allocation was to make available additional resources rather than to divert existing resources to deal with those demands.

I accept that any given occasion or out of the ordinary event or series of events, such as the EU Presidency, which moves Garda resources to the duty of security and escort and so on is a drain on resources from other areas. As a consequence, areas which need those resources must necessarily suffer. I did my best, through the budgetary provisions mentioned, to minimise those effects. However, I do not believe security for the EU Presidency could have been handled without putting a strain on Garda resources. The situation necessitated a significant allocation of resources and those resources had to come from areas to which they would have otherwise been applied.

Mr. Costello

Deputy Commissioner Murphy when attending an Oireachtas committee two weeks ago established a link between the stress and strain on Garda resources and the EU Presidency. The chairman of the National Safety Council established a further link between the increase in road deaths in the first three months of this year from an average of 20 per month to 30 per month, a 50% increase and the shortage of Garda manpower and resources in terms of effectively implementing the penalty points system.

Having witnessed an initial reduction in road deaths, there has been an alarming increase in that regard in the first three months of this year. The lack of Garda resources available to deal with the matter was also mentioned. There is a serious shortage of staffing and resources in the public arena even though the Minister had 18 months to put in place the extra gardaí promised. We had all expected the recruitment of a considerable number of extra gardaí for the EU Presidency. However, that has not been delivered upon which in many ways gives rise to the shortage now being experienced and the inability to properly deal with issues not just related to the EU Presidency or VIP escorts but the general level of crime which is increasing.

Mr. McDowell

I have already conceded that the EU Presidency did, in terms of the resources associated with it, eat into resources which would otherwise have been available. It is not fair to say there is a direct correlation between the security issues surrounding the EU Presidency and the increase in road deaths. It probably has more to do with the perception of general enforcement. The coming on stream of the penalty points system in the summer will drive home that element of the Government's road safety strategy.

I am often mystified, in terms of road traffic accidents about which one hears on the radio, that so many of them are, tragically, cases involving a lone driver crashing into a tree, lamppost or wall at night or in the early hours of the morning on lonely roads where, in all probability, gardaí would not be deployed. That is a puzzling pattern. We must carefully investigate the circumstances of many of these accidents.

Mr. J. O’Keeffe

The Garda Síochána, in conjunction with the Army, did a fine job in policing the EU Presidency. I am proud of them and credit must be given to them in that regard.

However, the point being raised here is somewhat different. As we did not have extra gardaí, we had to divert members of the force from tasks they would otherwise have been doing. I was horrified at the starkness of the comments of the chairman of the National Safety Council when he bluntly stated that road deaths had increased as a result of our not having increased the number of gardaí available. That must strike very hard at those who lost members of their family through accidents.

What is the current position of the traffic corps in terms of numbers? What can be done in this area, even with extra gardaí? There will always be events such as the EU Presidency which make demands on manpower. What is proposed in terms of a substantial traffic corps to deal with the significant increase in the number of road traffic deaths and accidents?

Mr. McDowell

Currently, 520 gardaí are attached to traffic units. That is a significant number.

Mr. J. O’Keeffe

Is it enough?

Mr. McDowell

No, in my view it is not enough. As I understand it, the traffic unit works on two shifts. Therefore, at any given time one has to halve that number of 520 to 260 and then has to divide that by the number of counties involved.

Mr. Costello

We have 32 counties.

Mr. McDowell

We do not have 32 counties yet. When one divides that number of personnel by each county borough and county one achieves a figure of roughly ten persons at any given stage available for traffic duties. If one sub-divides that into traffic control and surveillance duties and so on one will see that, in effect, only a small number of people are engaged in any particular aspect of the traffic corps' activities. We need to assign more gardaí to traffic duties.

I accept the Deputy's point, stark as it may be, that it is a matter of life and death. It is not simply a matter of policy choice. There are consequences, not merely regarding the traffic corps but in general policing, in terms of whether one does or does not have enough gardaí. Whether one has enough gardaí is a matter of serious consequence and not one on which economists can chew the fat in Doheny and Nesbitt's. It is a matter of life and death and of preventing terrible tragedy for many people.

Mr. Costello

Does the disappointment and shame of the matter not lie in the fact that having altered Irish behaviour on the roads by the introduction of penalty points, we have reverted to type because there has not been proper policing? Is this not because the extra gardaí who were promised have not been recruited and because of the failure to establish a transport and traffic corps?

Mr. Cuffe

Will the Minister use his influence to ensure that the traffic division does not change shift in the middle of the evening rush hour? It has been shown that a substantial number of gardaí on traffic duty change shift at the peak of the evening rush hour. Will the Minister do anything to ensure that the change of shift is done earlier or later so that full capacity is available during peak traffic times?

Mr. McDowell

That is an issue on which I will convey the Deputy's views to the commissioner and to the Minister for Transport. The Minister, Deputy Brennan, and I have been grappling with this issue for some time. It is not an easy one. In the United Kingdom an auxiliary force of traffic police has been created to keep traffic moving and to carry out lower level traffic control functions. Even if that is a desirable model — without having studied it carefully I am not sure how it will work since it only started recently in the United Kingdom — I would run into the public service recruitment ban were I to go down that road.

Mr. J. O’Keeffe

One of the problems is that half the unit is trying to get traffic moving while the other half is trying to slow it down.