Ms Nóirín O'Sullivan:

I will ask the deputy commissioner for operations to talk about that issue in detail.

We have taken all ten reports of the Garda Inspectorate. The one to which the Senator refers is report No. 10 in which a number of issues are identified. There was also the Guerin report. One of the issues raised was the supervision and oversight of student probationary gardaí. That is what Mr. Dunne referred to in terms of the allocation of new gardaí and ensuring they were allocated to areas where they would have a mentor and a tutor to ensure they would be assisted in the second phase of their training. The first phase in the Garda College lasts for 32 weeks during which they receive all of their instructions. When they go to a station they stay there for 35 weeks and are assisted by an experienced member and overseen by supervisors. It is something on which we are very focused in terms of front-line supervision. There was a delay in holding competitions to fill posts of sergeants and inspectors which we believe are instrumental and critical in overseeing the development of student gardaí. That is something we are addressing. The sergeant competition is under way and we hope it will be finalised before the end of the year. The inspector competition will commence shortly. We are very happy to discuss the matter now or, if the Chairman wishes in the interests of time, we can provide the Senator with anything that is required.