Mr. Dónall Ó Cualáin:

In response to the question on the pace of reform in respect of our overall MRP, I am focusing at this juncture on ensuring that we are properly resourced at management level to ensure that our ambitious programme of reform moves apace. We have laid out certain milestones which we hope to achieve over the coming 12 months. This is a five year programme which started last year. We learn more as we move on and as the environment changes we may have to re-prioritise. That is part and parcel of every major programme of reform. We have to ensure that the critical enablers that will allow us deliver on the overall programme are put in place as soon as possible and that includes the civilianisation, the skilled resources coming into the organisation to allow Garda members work on the front line and to take on additional jobs to get us through this phase and to get our own people, who would be employees of this organisation to a level of skill such that they can, once our reforms have been delivered, deliver the ordinary continuing change scheme in a professional and efficient manner. That is in addition to ensuring that we continue to provide the public with a quality service for its protection, and support communities. That is our first objective. That is the day job and we cannot take our eye off that. We also have to ensure, however, as a second plank that we move on with our modernisation and renewal programme.

Assistant Commissioner John O'Driscoll, who is the author of the interim report, is here. Last week at Committee of Public Accounts, I said that the programme for Government contained a commitment on the reopening of six Garda stations on a pilot basis. That came to An Garda Síochána. It was then a matter for us, based on our knowledge and professional opinion, to decide where these things might happen, based on the high level criteria that came with the correspondence from the Department. Assistant Commissioner O'Driscoll did that work and he can explain in detail how he approached coming to a conclusion on where those six stations might be. That is a matter for me as acting Commissioner to recommend. It is a matter for the Commissioner of the day to decide where those stations are and to recommend them to Government. Assistant Commissioner O'Driscoll can give more detail on that.