Mr. Drew Harris:

An Garda Síochána gets a lot of money. It has a big budget. We get a big slice of the public purse, and it is taxpayers' money. As Accounting Officer, I have the responsibility of ensuring the budget is used efficiently and effectively. I am clear about my role and what I have to do. If we have a pressing operational requirement for additional resources then I would make a case. At the moment I plan to live within the budget provided for the force in 2019. It is a responsibility placed on me and I am not starting the year thinking I must ask for more somewhere down the line. That would not be acting responsibly. Negotiations are still ongoing for the 2019 budget and we have not reached a final position as yet.

I wish to make a wider point. In terms of our operational footprint things are happening other than overtime. We have touched on the number of staff. The number of uniformed gardaí is increasing and beyond that we are recruiting Garda staff to displace other officers and members out on to the front line. It is not just about overtime. Indeed, when I looked at even this slight tightening of the belt for the end of the year, the reduction was not even a percentage point of the overall budget. It was a small cut in our expenditure. It seemed to me to be entirely prudent given the position we were in, which was one of overspend, that we would try to retrieve as much of that overspend as we could.