Ms Nóirín O'Sullivan:

I will introduce the team. On my right is Mr. Kieran Kenny, Assistant Commissioner with responsibility for the northern region and risk in the Garda organisation. On my immediate right is Mr. Dónall Ó Cualáin, Assistant Commissioner with responsibility for the western region. He and Mr. John Twomey, who is on my left and is the Assistant Commissioner with responsibility for the Dublin metropolitan region and traffic, are leading the transformation programme with my colleague on my immediate left, Mr. Cyril Dunne, our chief administrative officer, and with Mr. Michael Culhane, our executive director of finance. Behind me are two more colleagues, Mr. Aidan Glacken, chief superintendent with responsibility for the strategic transformation office, and Mr. Andrew McLindon, our director of communications.

I thank the committee for its invitation to attend today and to outline An Garda Síochána's priorities for 2015 and the years ahead. Undoubtedly, the past few years have been challenging for the Garda. Like all public sector bodies, we have had to do more with less. We have met those challenges. We have also learned some difficult lessons on which we are determined to build. Most importantly, we want to build on our strengths, such as the professionalism, commitment and dedication of our people to provide the best possible policing service to the communities we serve.

Our 2015 policing plan focuses on how we are going to commence on our journey of reform, change and continuous improvement, particularly in terms of our structures, culture, technology and service delivery. It is important to stress at the outset that we see this as a journey and, like any journey, it will take time, a determined effort and resolve. There will be successes and failures. There will be diversions and the need to evolve and adapt agilely along the way. Throughout, we will keep to our vision of what we want to achieve, that is, a world-class police service for the people and communities of this country and in which people can have pride. This approach has informed the 2015 policing plan, as has feedback from our staff, oversight bodies like the Garda Síochána Inspectorate, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and committees such as this forum, the public, other stakeholders, the Minister for Justice and Equality, who has outlined her priorities, and the communities that we serve.

The message from the feedback was loud and clear. What people want is a professional community-focused police service in which they can have confidence, trust and pride. To meet this goal, we have developed a new operating model that focuses on five strands. In the first instance, we want to prevent people from becoming victims of crime and to reduce victimisation. As in any society, we want to ensure that people are supported when they become the victims of crime. We want to focus on proactive crime operations and investigation, education and awareness, and working in partnership with all relevant stakeholders, including the community.

Crime prevention will be at the core of everything we do, with the aim of reducing victimisation. We are committed to protecting communities and individuals from the dangers and harm associated with crime, drugs, domestic-related crime including burglaries, domestic violence and other forms of violence. However, when a crime occurs, as it does in any society, we will ensure that it is professionally, thoroughly and properly investigated.

National security is an integral part of protecting communities nationally and internationally against the threat of terrorism, as are proactive, intelligence-led operations targeting organised crime groups and individuals involved in criminality in all its forms. We will maintain a strong focus on protecting the State and its people against all forms of terrorism and on tackling serious crime, such as organised crime, violent crime, cyber crime and white-collar crime.

Reducing road deaths is a key concern. We have come a long way in the past decade and the number of road deaths this year so far are down on last year, but one death on our roads is one too many and we will continue our strategy of enforcement and education that, along with other stakeholders, has seen this country have one of the best road safety records in Europe.

We are acutely aware that it is critical for us to deliver these policing services while also making significant changes to the way we operate.

I have continually stressed to the organisation that we will be taking a twin track approach of continuing our core duty of protecting communities and the security of the State, while ensuring the necessary changes are made. It is vital for us to do both, and we will. In doing this, however, we need the help and support of communities. We have a proud history of community policing but I recognise that events over the last year have impacted on trust levels in An Garda Síochána. We are determined to strengthen our relationship with communities through closer engagement and partnerships. It is important that in making these changes we build on the good aspects of An Garda Síochána, of which there are many. One of the most critical of these are our people. Day in, day out they demonstrate their commitment to communities around the country. As leaders, our job is to ensure we can enhance their capabilities through training, development and support.

In making these changes, we took on board the numerous internal and external reports, as well as internal and external feedback, and distilled them into a strategic transformation programme. This programme has prioritised the changes we need to make in terms of risk, benefits and community impact. We are currently finalising the long-term roadmap for the programme and this will include putting in place internal and external governance structures to monitor its implementation. One of the first elements of the programme is the 2015 policing plan. The plan will act as a bridge to our next corporate strategy, which we are currently developing.

Other elements of the transformation programme have also been implemented. A strategic transformation office has been established to make sure the changes under the transformation programme are delivered correctly and on schedule, and to measure and monitor their impact. We have also established what we describe as a transformational spine to make sure the effects of the improvements are felt throughout the organisation and on the front line. Risk compliance and continuous improvement offices have been set up in each region, headed by a superintendent, to deliver changes at regional level in a standard and consistent way, as well as to support continuous improvement in day-to-day business. I recently appointed or re-allocated 90 senior officers to bring fresh thinking and leadership to critical areas of policing. We have created new units to more effectively leverage expertise in particular areas, such as organised crime, domestic and sexual violence and human exploitation. Detective superintendents in the regions have been charged with delivering a co-ordinated and effective approach to crime operations and investigation.

We have also developed a methodology built around three themes to deliver these changes. It is not about change for the sake of change but about making sure we continuously improve the service we provide to the community. Put simply, we are going to fix the identified deficiencies; build the processes, systems or structures required to solve the problem; and then operate the solution to the highest standard to deliver benefits to the organisation, the citizen and the State. As an example of how this would work at an operational level, we identified looking after victims of crime as a priority area through our own surveys and on foot of recent reports. The Garda Síochána Inspectorate’s recent report and surveys of victims of crime have found that An Garda Síochána generally provides a good service to victims of crime but many felt disappointed by the lack of information and consistency in delivery of the service. We identified this issue as a key priority. Our fix was to provide for a more consistent and standard approach to dealing with victims of crime. Our build strand involves the implementation of divisional victim service centres that will provide a central point of contact for any questions, issues or problems victims of crime are experiencing as their cases are being investigated and moving through the criminal justice system. We have commenced the roll-out of these centres in every division to ensure that treatment of victims at a traumatic time in their lives will be consistent and standardised. The centres will be operated by specially trained staff working to a standard operating procedure, which should ensure the delivery of a professional and consistent service whether it is in Donegal or Dingle. This is a concrete example of how our fix-build-operate approach to change works. The approach will also be applied to a range of other areas, such as crime prevention, crime investigation, and community policing.

For such reforms to happen, however, there needs to be a number of key enablers. We need the right people in the right places at the right times. This requires a steady stream of Garda students, the acquisition of professional skills to augment policing, more training and development so that our people have the right skills, competencies and capabilities and the proper systems for managers to be able to deploy people more effectively and measure the impact of their deployment. We have started this process, with 299 students in the Garda college and new training programmes in the process of being delivered and developed. In terms of technology, as the Garda Síochána Inspectorate has noted, significant investment is required to bring us in line with other police services and to modernise the systems that will enable us to deliver this service. We have adopted a new approach that moves us from a short-term view based on making do to one that involves planning and building for the future. Further changes, such as providing regions with more responsibility and accountability through strengthened central oversight and reduced bureaucracy, are in the pipeline. We will develop more stringent governance and accountability mechanism in preparedness for the establishment of the policing authority. To ensure all our changes have a lasting impact, they will be underpinned by behaviour that emulates the values of honesty, accountability, professionalism and respect.

The men and women of An Garda Síochána are committed to continually improving the service we provide to the community but we cannot do so alone. By working in collaboration and partnership with agencies and communities, I strongly believe we can provide a professional, victim centred and community-focused human rights based police service. It will require time, careful analysis and a structured approach but it will happen. We will deliver a world-class police service that sets the standard for others to follow and be a source of pride for the people of this country. My team and I are happy to take whatever questions members of the committee members might have.