Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach is very welcome. I am Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Justice. That committee's major focus has been on crime and policing. Cybercrime is one of the matters we looked at, especially spyware scams and things of that nature, which have become increasingly prevalent. We are also looking at technological solutions to improve the operation of the Courts Service and the functions of An Garda Síochána. As part of that, we have arranged a special meeting to deal with the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 on 5 July in the hope of moving it on.

Policing resources are obviously a major issue also. I am conscious, from the last budget, that investment in An Garda Síochána has increased significantly, which is right and proper. However, we need to look not just at how that translates into numbers of gardaí but also where they are deployed. Many Members indicate that they feel there is a dearth of gardaí in particular areas of the country, especially certain urban areas, and that this possibly gives rise to antisocial behaviour, for example, criminal activity on public transport. These are all issues that we have looked at.

The other matter that has come to the fore, and the Taoiseach mentioned it, relates to international protection. I acknowledge what he said regarding the 86,000-odd people we have accommodated in the past year. I welcome that but, as this matter falls under the justice committee, we need to work on processing their applications as quickly as possible.

Ours is a very legislation-heavy committee and always has been. For example, this week, we engaged in pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the defamation amendment Bill. The matter of gambling is coming up on 11 July and there will be another session on the general scheme to which I refer. In the context of Standing Order 174A, there is a feeling that the eight-week limit for pre-legislative scrutiny is very tight for a committee that has to deal with a lot of legislation. Is there any scope to expand or extend that so there is greater room for a committee such as justice to do the work it has to do? The Taoiseach mentioned committee resources. It is not just about the members of the committee; it is also about staff. That is obviously a very important provision as well. Any injection of resources for committees would be very welcome.