Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will deal with the issues in the order in which they were raised by Deputy Collins. The introduction of Garda rosters is a very substantial reform of the manner in which the gardaí deal with their day-to-day duties. I wish to reiterate my thanks to the two representative bodies of the Garda Síochána, the GRA and the AGSI, who have fully co-operated in the new rostering system. It means that it is possible to put members of the Garda Síochána on the streets and available to protect the community on the days and in the hours when they are required. Until the introduction of the roster system last April, there could be as many gardaí rostered for duty in Dublin on a Monday night as on a Friday night. Gardaí are under pressure on a Friday evening compared to substantially less pressure on a Monday evening. The roster system facilitates the Garda Commissioner and those working with him to ensure that members of the force are available on the days, nights and at the times when they are needed. The manner in which the new roster operates also provides a better work-life balance experience for members of the force. I commend the members of the force for their work during the past year, including the manner in which they have adapted to the new roster. I commend the Garda representative bodies for assisting with the support and implementation of the roster system. It is often overlooked to acknowledge the extraordinary work of members of the Garda force. They have had outstanding successes this year in the areas of drug seizures, the detection of fuel laundering, raiding grow houses, tackling organised crime, addressing issues of subversion. We now know that Operation Fiacla which ran from 1 February to mid-October resulted in the extraordinary number of 2,500 individuals being arrested for burglary offences. As of mid-October, in the region of 1,400 individuals have been charged before the courts.

To deal with the question raised by Deputy Collins, it is crucial that members of the force attend court sittings when cases are heard. Nothing in the rosters impedes the attendance at courts when cases are heard. I am not personally aware of any substantial number of instances where this has occurred. If Deputy Collins wishes to bring any examples to my attention, I will be happy to communicate them to the Garda Commissioner. The rosters do not act as an obstacle to a member of the force attending for a court hearing when this is necessary. Two committees, one chaired by the President of the Circuit Court and the second chaired by the President of the District Court have worked to ensure a co-ordinated approach for dealing with criminal matters at court level. The State is in straitened financial circumstances and it is desirable that a limit is imposed on unnecessary expenditure. I say this as the Minister for Justice and Equality but in circumstances in which I would not in any shape or form want to interfere in any way with the independence of the courts or of the Judiciary. However, it would be helpful if when, for example, cases are adjourned that they would be adjourned to dates on which members are on duty but that is not always possible in the court system. The rights of defendants have to be protected and there is nothing in the roster system which would prevent a member of the force attending a court when required to do so for the purpose of a prosecution proceeding or a matter before the court being dealt with on an interim basis.

Deputy Collins raised the issue of members of the force who are eligible for retirement. I am familiar with the hearings of the committee with the Garda Commissioner and the representative bodies. It is always the case that there are more members in the force eligible for retirement than the number who actually retire. A member may retire on full pension having achieved 30 years' service. In the region of 1,200 members of the force are eligible to retire but there is no indication that the majority would wish to or intend to retire. The force has many experienced members who enjoy their job and are committed to it. They have substantial expertise and they are of an age when they can continue to remain in the force for a number of years. There is no indication that those who are eligible to retire are all planning to retire suddenly. The Garda Commissioner would have addressed that issue with the committee when he was here.

Deputy Collins raised the issue of Garda numbers and the situation with regard to recruitment. As the Deputy may be aware - I am sorry to return to this - the previous Fianna Fáil-led Government entered into the EU-IMF-ECB agreement which required substantial annual reductions in public expenditure. Certain assurances were given that the numbers in the Garda force would be reduced to at least a figure of 13,000. It was not impossible, based on the agreement, that the force would be reduced below that figure. In fact, the current number in the force is 13,440 gardaí. When I first came into Government there were in excess of 14,500 gardaí. We are now under the eagle eye of the troika and we must bring down public expenditure. I am very conscious of the desirability of a return to recruitment as early as possible. We are not in a position to make that decision at this time. I am not revealing any State secrets about the budgetary arithmetic but there will either be in the region of €3.5 billion in reductions and fund-raising efforts for 2013. The borrowings for 2013 will be €3.5 billion less than in 2012. Based on figures that are publicly available for some time, I anticipate that next year I will have a spend of some €62 million less than I had in 2012.

For 2012 I had some €100 million less than was available to the Minister in 2011. Given the financial difficulties we must confront, we are not in a position at this time to commence a recruitment campaign. I hope and I am sure we will be in that position, but I do not want to put a date on it because I cannot predict with certainty what it will be. The last graduation within the Garda force was in March or April 2011. Therefore, we still have a force with relatively young members, in addition to older members, thus providing an appropriate balance.

We were happy to purchase the additional vehicles. Approximately €3 million was charged for escort services provided in 2011. This revenue is accounted for in the appropriations-in-aid in the 2012 account. I do not have the figure for 2012. We will have the final figure in that regard in the new year.

I am conscious of the question as to whether we can obtain a greater revenue stream than we have. This is always a matter we examine constructively. I am conscious of the condition of the economy and that, in the context of protecting funds of financial institutions, there will be an impact on the institutions' finances if we charge them more. The State is providing finances to keep the financial institutions functioning and we are anxious that they engage in lending, not only to those who are seeking to purchase homes but also to small and medium-sized enterprises. I will not head down the route of increasing costs unnecessarily, as this could cause a disadvantage in another area. The Deputy may assume that we always review charges to determine whether there is capacity to increase them to provide a revenue stream that would be beneficial.

The case the Deputy made on special exemption orders has featured for a long time. It even featured during the Celtic tiger years when various licence-holders, be they owners of public houses or those holding dance hall licences, sought a variety of extensions. We are examining the legislation on alcohol in general, but, in the context of turnover, square footage and providing a variety of fee structures, I would be very cautious. On some occasions, a premises with considerable square footage might have fewer people attending it than a more popular venue with smaller square footage. The attendance can be variable. With the economic downturn, there have been substantially fewer applications for exemption orders.

There is, of course, a conflict of interest in this area. As Minister for Justice and Equality, it suits me if public houses and premises with dance hall licences that are running various events in this city, Cork, Galway and elsewhere seek special exemption orders because of the fund-raising assistance it provides. On the other hand, an issue arises in that venues are open longer and later and providing even more alcohol. There is a problem with young people binge-drinking. An issue arises as to the extent to which we should be encouraging the seeking of more special exemption orders, excessive drinking and more young people to get themselves into trouble as a result of excessive drinking. From the perspective of revenue raising, it is regrettable that in the economic downturn businesses that were doing well are seeking fewer exemption orders. However, it is desirable that young people do not drink excessively, bearing in mind it is possible to have a good time and socialise without doing so. It may well be that the issuing of fewer special exemption orders is not attributable solely to economic issues but to young people spending less money on alcohol. If that is the case, it is good.