Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is one of those oxymorons we have to deal with. I note the increase in funding for the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC. One of the biggest difficulties many people have with GSOC is that the inquiries it carries out often require that it second members of An Garda Síochána from other areas to do investigations. There is certainly an impression among people who make complaints. We are all adults and we know that people who do not get a satisfactory outcome to their complaint are not going to be satisfied. However, some people have a grievance that they believe to be legitimate feel they are not dealt with appropriately. Part of that is the way in which these inquiries are carried out. I hope GSOC will have its own staff to do this kind of work, that these staff will be properly trained and that GSOC will have a greater level of independence and separation from An Garda Síochána than is currently the case. I invite the Minister to comment on that.

The other issue I will raise relates to the Mental Health Criminal Law Review Board. Many people who work in the criminal justice system, whether in the courts or in An Garda Síochána, see that many of the repeat offenders who come before the courts have difficulties with addiction and mental health. Many of these difficulties are interlinked, for example, people may have become psychotic because of drug addiction. There is a range of issues there. At the moment, the services available to such people are poor. It is widely recognised that while some improvements have occurred in recent years, we are still a long way from a satisfactory situation in regard to that. The zero increase in funding for the review board, which I accept only considers cases, reflects the huge amount of work to be done to bring this area up to the standard needed to protect people with mental health problems who end up before the courts and often in jail where they should not be.

There is a huge amount of work to be done in respect of bringing that up to the standard that we need to protect people who have mental health problems, end up before the courts system and often end up in jail, where they should not be at all. It compounds their condition and destroys their lives, in effect, in many cases. It is a real issue that we need to look at.

The other issue I wish to raise concerns the crime prevention measures. There is zero increase in respect of that. I point to the case that is ongoing at the moment in my own constituency in Sligo. It concerns an elderly man who was attacked in his home recently and is currently on life support. The gardaí are doing their best to find the culprits. However, it has certainly heightened that sense of fear and vulnerability among elderly people, particularly those living alone in rural and isolated areas. While it may not be under the remit of the Minister's Department, I suggest that from somewhere in government, additional measures need to be put in place in respect of providing security, greater protection and perhaps cameras and that type of thing. Assistance should be provided for pensioners who are alone in rural areas to help them to get a greater sense of security around that. That is not to separate the issue from the fact that we need more gardaí and, of course, a more visible Garda presence in rural areas. That is certainly a direction that we need to go in. I will leave it at that for the moment, but I will come back with other questions afterwards.