Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With regard to breath testing, will the commissioners provide an update on the fixed charge notices? Has that matter been squared off and addressed through the legal process An Garda Síochána had to undertake with the difficulties with fixed charge notices? People were incorrectly issued with those notices. Has that all been dealt with, or how many are left? Perhaps the commissioners will update the committee.

The last time the commissioners were at the committee, reference was made to the pilot for submitting real-time information and how it would improve the IT system. Data could be submitted, for example, when gardaí were out and about rather than having to input information on their return to the station, which can cause difficulties with the quality of information submitted. At what stage is this pilot and could it be rolled out on a broader basis across all stations?

I shall now turn to the issue of Garda stations. There has been a lot of political controversy around the Stepaside Garda station, and rightly so. The force was led on a certain path that created only one end point, but that is not at the commissioners' door as far as I am concerned. Population is growing across the Dublin suburbs. I do not want to get parochial about it because there are other areas with similar growth, but I have concerns about the allocation of numbers.

My area of west Dublin has had a census change in the population and we have serious crime in certain areas more than in others. We do not have drugs units in some areas while there may be historical retention of drugs units in other areas that do not have the same issues with drugs. What is An Garda Síochána doing to recalibrate numbers of gardaí within divisions to appropriately address the crime levels there? Is the Garda looking at levels of response times across divisions and allocating gardaí on that basis? I speak with gardaí who have said they may not envy the gardaí at a particular station in a division, but there are other stations in sleepy places that do not have the same levels of crime. I would not like to take gardaí away from areas with low levels of crime, but I want to know what is being done because it is an issue for the Garda as a national force. How do we apportion numbers properly so that areas with poorer response times get the units or numbers required? I thank the Chairman for the time.