Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Commissioner and her colleagues for coming to the committee today to brief us.

Before I start, I wish to express my thanks and that of everybody in the country for the work of every member of An Garda Síochána. The work of the Garda is at the heart of keeping people safe and protecting our country every day. Sometimes, when people focus on one or two specific issues, they miss the bigger picture, which is that there is a police service that is dedicated. I believe that every single person in the service works every single day to serve the community and the country. I think we owe everybody a thanks for that service.

That ties in to some of the points I wish to raise with the Commissioner. Ms O'Sullivan alludes to the matter in her opening remarks but I would like her to outline some of the key steps she believes are necessary to restore some of the eroded public confidence in the service. All surveys show that the public has a tremendous regard for An Garda Síochána, but there has been some erosion of that support. In terms of the overall view of the actions she is taking to reform the service, will she tell us the key steps she believes are necessary to be enacted as quickly as possible to restore public confidence in all aspects of An Garda Síochána from its top management and leadership right the way down the organisation?

I have a number of follow up questions, but I do not know if the Chair wants me to put all the questions together.