Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I highlight what Senator Chambers said. It is a very important point. We need a renewed focus on the Garda Reserve. I have had a good few friends in the Garda Reserve, more than half of whom have left. They are very discontent with the whole setup, disappointed with what they see inside Garda stations and disappointed that they were sent to police rugby matches. People have told me they arrived and were told they were not really wanted at the station. There is a huge suggestion of bullying and intimidation within An Garda Síochána as regards these reserves, from what people have told me. I know one person who suffered major mental health issues as a result of his time within the Garda Reserve. He was a broken person as a result of it all. He came with great ambition to be a garda. Thanks be to goodness, he is now in IT. He has just turned out with his master's and is working for an American company in Dublin. He did information technology. What a skill set to bring to An Garda Síochána. That is an important point.

We need a renewed focus on this but we need to define clearly the role of reserves. It is certainly not to be standing around parades, it is certainly not to be thrown out of stations and it is certainly not to be going to the local chipper for chips or to Chinese takeaways. That is, sadly, what people have shared with me. That is the story, and I want to tell it to the Minister. This is our platform. This is an opportunity where I can share that with her. They tell me that there is systemic bullying in the Garda Síochána in respect of reserves. Their numbers have gone down. One man who was in the Garda Reserve, I am delighted to say, will be running in the local elections - not in Dublin. I do not want to identify him. He had so much to offer the community. I said to him, "You can do other great things in the community, so why not run in the local elections?"We need to understand that there are older people who may have opted out of something. There is a cut-off point. I recall another person who was asked to leave at a certain point. People who reach the age of 65 or 68 are not redundant or useless. They have life experience and lived experiences. I believe they can be a positive force for goodness and change.

We also have many people, reservists, with other skills who could be doing administrative work. We do not need all our highly skilled members of An Garda Síochána behind desks. It is challenging. We need to recruit them but before we start on a recruitment drive, we need to clearly define what the job is. There are many good people and many gardaí, superintendents, sergeants, etc., in divisions all over the country who are very supportive of reservists. I would not like to think it was a common problem. However, many people I know who were in the Garda Reserve have told me the same story. Therefore, we need to revisit it and define what their role is. We need to be clear on a line they can take up if they feel in any way pressurised or intimidated.

The other side of the Garda Reserve is that it is a great screening process or a great teaser or introduction to An Garda Síochána. People come into something like that and then decide after a year or two that it is not it is not really for them. That is another particularly important point.

Finally, I ask that in any reform of the Garda Reserve or when we are looking at it again, we put in place a confidential exit interview process. We have much to learn from people who leave here and who leave politics. We have much to learn from people who leave An Garda Síochána. I would like to see a very professional exit interview system in place in order that we can learn, because some of these people say that, yes, they are prepared to come and meet people to whom they can talk in confidence. They want to share their experiences and contribute for people coming behind them who may like a more positive experience as a Garda reservist. There is really a place for Garda reserves. There is in-house training for the people who are there but there has to be a mechanism of finding out why so many people are leaving, why they are not staying and why they are not valued. There is much to be learned. Therefore, before we throttle out all the reforms, we need to identify what the issues are for the people involved and see how we can learn from that to put in place a more strong, robust and healthier workplace for our Garda reserves.