Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I presume multi-annual budgets would result in a better process for the organisation. That comes jumping out of this analysis. We would highly recommend them. Just dropping the hammer on a budget in a system that is so demand led seems to be a real issue.

There are a couple of other related points. Having looked through this, I believe no public representative could fail to justify overtime that is necessary to protect people. It is demand led. We cannot sit here and say otherwise. On the other side of the fence, we would say, "Lads, why are ye not doing something about all this?" This is about the process of accountability. I refer to the management information system Mr. Harris mentioned. Divestment, civilianisation of certain components, and IT also jump out very much. There seems to be a great deficiency in IT. This is a message to go back to the Department. We have seen this previously. Capital investment in IT will result in multiple efficiencies and savings down the road and result in greater outcomes. Take, for instance, the normal Garda sergeant or inspector affected by this. At the end of a long day, he or she has to go back to a station in many cases to input data or do paperwork. This is crazy in 2019. I am trying to help the organisation here. We all know gardaí. A garda doing a long shift, including community activities, might be late for training the lads because he or she has to go back to the station to do this, that and the other. Surely in a couple of years, we will have to have a system whereby there will be handheld devices through which information can be dropped into the system. They would have to be secure.

I come from an IT background. Is there a plan? First, the gardaí have lives to live. Second, bearing in mind the demand-led aspect in relation to what we just spoke about and the fact that hours change, there has to be some degree of certainty. Circumstances are not being helped by the way gardaí must do their duties at the end or beginning of a day or the way the handover between sergeants is carried out. Is there a plan in place in this regard? The need for a plan is glaringly obvious.