Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to talk to the Minister about where her responsibilities and those of the Garda Commissioner lie because whenever we put forward parliamentary questions or engage with the Minister in the House, questions are frequently answered to the effect that she has no official responsibility for a matter and that it is an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner. The Ceann Comhairle regularly sends me letters when I ask about overtime or the provision of resources stating that it is nothing to do with the Minister but is instead the responsibility of the Garda Commissioner. That is why, last week I was interested when Fine Gael sent out a social media post stating:

Justice Ministerhas fast-tracked the attestation of trainee Garda in Templemore, meaning we will see more Gardaí on the beat before Christmas. This is another way Fine Gael is building stronger, safer communities.

However, when my colleague, Deputy Alan Kelly, put down a parliamentary question to ask if this had anything to do with Minister she had to admit, as Minister, that:

As Minister I cannot seek to direct the Commissioner in relation to such matters and I had no role in his decision to move forward the attestation date from the 12th January 2024 to the 15th December 2023.

The issue is that the political party of which the Minister is a member is giving the impression to the public that she has fast-tracked more gardaí to be trained when she did not. Does she have a response to that?