Ms Nóirín O'Sullivan:

It is something that we have committed to.

In this respect the Garda Inspectorate report No. 11, entitled Changing Policing in Ireland, made very significant recommendations, as did all the Garda Inspectorate reports.

In our modernisation and renewal programme, there is a commitment to civilianisation. We have committed to civilian by default. That means where a vacancy arises or as we restructure, we look at the skillset needed for that position. I will ask my colleague Mr. Nugent to outline what we have done in terms of our workforce plan.

We have been working in the past two years with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Department of Justice and Equality and this year we have been working with the Policing Authority to ensure we prioritise a number of the vacancies. We welcome the announcement in the Budget Statement yesterday, which we are confident will allow us to move on with our plan.

I can ask Mr. Nugent to outline exactly where we are going.