Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome acting Garda Commissioner Ó Cualáin, the gardaí present and the technical team. I grew up in an area where people respected the Garda, and I believe that over the last number of years the respect has decreased. My respect for the Garda has not decreased, but from listening to many people in my constituency I believe it has gone down generally. The damage has been done over the last number of years, and the final straw was when the fixed penalty and breath test scandals came to light. They were very badly handled, and it is very important that it does not happen again. We need better policing, we need changes, and we need to get the public trust and respect for the Garda back.

Acting Garda Commissioner Ó Cualáin stated that it is very important that this new regime starts from the top down and the bottom up. I agree with that. Too many people are blaming each other, and this has to stop. We need a Commissioner who will lead from the front, will have the trust and respect of the public, and do the job. I am a firm believer in getting it right first time. In the last number of years we have had two or three Commissioners who did not get it right first time. It is very important that acting Garda Commissioner Ó Cualáin gets the support and the resources that he needs to do his job, and I believe that he should start with a clean slate. It is fine for him to appear before various Oireachtas committees and different organisations and be constantly battered over what happened in the past. What happened in the past was wrong, and I know that the acting Commissioner will put a team together to sort out what happened in the past. It is very important going forward, and to be fair to acting Garda Commissioner Ó Cualáin we have to give him a clean slate going forward.

It has been stated that crime is down and that drugs have been taken off the streets. That is a good start. I come from Dundalk in County Louth. It has had its problems over the last number of years, and as a public representative I have a very good relationship with Superintendent Gerard Curley, who has done a fantastic job there. I can only speak from my own experience. I see many more garda on foot patrol, more checkpoints, and more involvement in the local community. That means a lot to me.

The reopening of Templemore has been a big plus. We are getting more professional gardaí on the beat. There has been a big issue with gardaí retiring, so it is good to balance the books. We have to do something to increase the number of gardaí in the force. Too many gardaí are doing clerical work at the moment, sitting behind desks. We should increase the number of civilians working for the Garda.

As a former businessman, I would like to know what acting Garda Commissioner Ó Cualáin's plan is going forward. Is he only filling the role on a temporary basis or does he actually want to be the Garda Commissioner? Is he here for the next six, 12 or 18 months to fill the position or is he here to do the best job he can and put his name forward as the next Garda Commissioner?