Mr. Martin Callinan:

To deal with the impact of the embargo on recruitment, obviously we would like if that was changed, given the lead-in time of two years in terms of bringing a person in the Garda Síochána to the point where he or she can serve on probation. There is a lead-in time before people are effective and on the street.

When one takes that in the context of a reducing attrition rate at the other end, it puts a strain on numbers. So far, we have been managing to provide a service that we have always been providing. That said, I would not like to see levels drop much beyond the 13,000 mark, which is what the Government has asked us to achieve. I say that because with the type of demands that are now placed on us to be in compliance with the new Working Time Directive, which was the catalyst for the new rostering arrangement and the clustering of resources, there is a requirement to have a cadre of personnel who are available to work longer hours, and more efficiency and, as we have been speaking about, more effectiveness.

There is no scientific model that ordains a certain number of officers need to be available to service a certain cadre of the community. It is very much unscientific. It is about having the facility to move one's resources in a effective manner to deal with whatever issues are facing you at any given time and that is what we are trying to do. That is why we have the type of flexibility within the new rostering arrangements where we can have up to 25% more personnel available on the street to do the type of work that they are required to do at the times required. That has been a strong aspect of the Croke Park arrangement to which An Garda Síochána has contributed. For over 40 years we have been grasping with this matter in terms of providing sufficient levels to service the community and we think we have now found a model that is suitable and will achieve that purpose, and we have been speaking about all of the issues that surrounding it. We will work hard to ensure that it works, in conjunction with the staffing associations. A couple of weeks ago, when I was here at the Committee of Public Accounts, I praised the associations for the level of commitment to the negotiations and putting in place that type of rostering regime that will help us in achieving the efficiencies that we are setting out to achieve with reduced numbers. Did Deputy Niall Collins mention another point?