I have full confidence in the Garda Commissioner as she proceeds with the implementation of the most ambitious programme of reform ever embarked on by An Garda Síochána.
Last July, the Government approved a Five Year Reform and High Level Workforce Plan for An Garda Síochána which combines the Government’s response to the Garda Inspectorate report 'Changing Policing in Ireland' and the commitments in the Programme for a Partnership Government aimed at increasing the visibility, effectiveness and responsiveness of An Garda Síochána. The Government agreed that the Garda Commissioner's Modernisation and Renewal Programme (MRP) 2016-2021 would be the vehicle for implementation of the Inspectorate recommendations aimed at the Garda organisation. In support of this plan, Budget 2017 provided funding to continue to expand the number of Gardaí towards 15,000, to double the Reserve to 2,000 and to double the number of civilians to 4,000 by 2021. In addition, the plan is supported by substantial capital investment of some €310 million in critical ICT infrastructure, the fleet and other Garda facilities.
Robust independent oversight is essential to ensuring that the pursuit of the reform programme is relentless over the next 5 years. To ensure that this is case, the 240 agreed recommendations of 'Changing Policing in Ireland' have been referred to the Policing Authority to monitor and assess their implementation by An Garda Síochána and to report progress to me on a quarterly basis. The first two progress reports from the Authority, received in January and April, have been published on my Department's website.
Priority areas include further civilianisation. This is crucial - we need to ensure that Gardaí are engaged in the work that they are trained for - policing - and not carrying out administrative and technical roles that can be done by civilian professionals. The Government has set a medium term target of 20% civilians to be achieved by 2021 to facilitate the redeployment of Gardaí to front line policing duties, and also to address critical capacity and skills gaps in An Garda Síochána in relation to HR, finance, ICT and corporate supports generally.
Other priority areas include initiatives aimed at the more effective deployment of resources, more effective supervision of front-line personnel and cultural change including:
- the roll-out of the Divisional model of policing to support the more flexible and effective deployment of resources - four pilots are in train and will be evaluated later this year;
- the roll-out of Divisional Protected Services Bureaus on a phased basis starting in three Divisions;
- the commencement of the performance appraisal framework in the third quarter with training underway at present;
- the cultural audit to provide a baseline against which cultural change in An Garda Síochána can be measured in the future will get underway shortly - An Garda Síochána has selected a company to carry out this work after a tender process. The results of the audit will be published.
I believe the only way to deliver world class policing in Ireland is to ensure that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs and that those resources operate in an organisation whose culture is open and responsive and where the best management systems and practices are deployed. I am confident that the reform plan that is being pursued by the Commissioner, supported by the Government and overseen by the Policing Authority, has the capacity to achieve this. It will not be done overnight and it will not be done easily, but with the necessary support and oversight, it can be achieved over the next four years.
