Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will take the amendments in the order we discussed them. I thank Deputy Daly for amendment No. 30, which relates to the phrase "to seek" and concerns the specific function of the Garda Commissioner that he or she is "to seek to secure the continuous improvement of the policing and security of the State". I understand what he is trying to achieve, in that by removing the phrase "to seek" the function will be more definitively "to secure" improvement. However, I cannot accept the amendment on the basis that securing continuous improvement is the envisaged outcome of the performance of the function rather than the required performance of the function itself. These are the functions relating to the Garda Commissioner. In addition, we must acknowledge there can be external factors beyond any individual Commissioner's control that might prevent the securing of continuous improvement. Thus, though the legislative requirement is quite strong, if it is "to seek to secure the continuous improvement", the phrase "to seek" is quite important because it would not be appropriate for the Commissioner to be considered to have been unsuccessful in performing one of his or her functions where there may have been other or external factors at play.

Amendment No. 31 proposes to amend section 33(2) to the effect the Garda Commissioner, in performing his or her functions, would have to seek to ensure such functions are carried out "according" to the matters listed rather than "with due regard" to them, as currently drafted. I am not in a position to accept the amendment due to how it is listed with other matters. The listed matters, which include the policing principles, policing priorities and the security priorities provided by the Bill, do not entirely relate to the functions of the Garda Commissioner and, therefore, it would not be strictly possible for him or her to perform his or her functions according to them. We have drafted it quite carefully because the requirement is he or she must have due regard to the listed matters and this is sufficient to ensure the objective of the provision is achieved, that being that the listed matters will be of foremost consideration to a Garda Commissioner when performing his or her functions. It is a slightly technical reason or rationale, but it is the explanation for that from our perspective.

I move to amendments Nos. 32 and 33. The latter was ruled out of order, but this is still an appropriate and important opportunity to discuss the serious issue Deputies Daly and Ó Snodaigh raise, namely, the need to ensure all people can access the Garda in their language of preference and recognising Irish is our national language. Deputy Ó Snodaigh made an interesting point, which I would of course seize on, which is that the debate is about whether we address some of these issues through legislation or management. I acknowledge as Minister for Justice that it needs to be addressed proactively. Now we are back in the era of the annual recruitment campaign, there is an onus on us, which I take from the point the Deputy made, to challenge ourselves even more in what we are doing to ensure those campaigns are reaching out to every part of the community. I am satisfied the Garda is doing quite a lot of this, but we could always do more and we will certainly engage with the Garda on that basis.

On the specifics of the amendment though, I am concerned about putting this into legislation because, without taking away from the important points that have been made and my comments in response, the primary functions of An Garda Síochána are to preserve peace and public order, protect life and property, vindicate human rights and prevent crime. The Garda Commissioner, whomever he or she is, has an absolute obligation to ensure those services provided by members of the force in performing these functions are accessible to all citizens. I accept no one wishes to do this, but we could end up nearly asking the Garda Commissioner to reduce or remove a vital service from a certain area if he or she was not in a position to reach the requirements. That is quite the opposite of what Deputies Daly and Ó Snodaigh wish to do and I fully acknowledge that. There is a balance between putting a primary legislative requirement on the Garda Commissioner of the day versus the genuine need to make more progress on this, which is more an operational management situation and something that should be the concern of the Minister, the Department, the board, the Commissioner and others. That is my thinking on that at the moment.