Ms Nóirín O'Sullivan:

I thank the Chairman and committee members for the invitation to attend. I note the wide range of issues the committee would like us to address and I am happy to facilitate it in that regard. If I do not cover all the issues within the time allotted in the opening statement, we will certainly endeavour to deal with any question members may have during the question-and-answer session.

As Ireland's policing and security service, An Garda Síochána has a long and proud tradition of serving and protecting communities and the State. We are determined to ensure that we continue to tackle criminality and disrupt and thwart terrorism in all its forms. It is vital that we continue to adapt to meet the ever evolving threat from criminality in all its forms and meet new and emerging challenges. For example, we have recently introduced a new anti-crime strategy that can be adapted to tackle a range of key crime areas. From now on, all anti-crime strategies will feature five key strands: crime prevention; crime investigations and operations; victim support; education and awareness; and working in partnership with the community and key stakeholders. This intelligence-led, multi-strand approach sees us co-ordinate a wide range of crime prevention and enforcement activities based on intelligence and crime trends to prevent and tackle particular crime types. Earlier this month we launched the first of these anti-crime strategies - Operation Thor - with a particular emphasis on burglaries, the number of which, as we know, increase with the advent of the long winter nights. Operation Thor will see us actively target and disrupt organised crime gangs and repeat offenders by employing a range of methods including: high-visibility checkpoints: the use of high-powered vehicles by the armed regional response units; additional patrolling in burglary hot spots; monitoring bail conditions of prolific offenders; and on-road policing to deny criminals the use of the road network.

Next week we will run a national advertising campaign across print, radio and online media to raise awareness about how people can help protect their homes. If a crime does occur, including burglary, victims will be provided with crime prevention advice to reduce the risk of recurrence and revictimisation. We will also work closely with our most important partners, communities, directly and through community-based organisations, such as the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, Neighbourhood Watch and Muintir na Tíre, to reduce the opportunities for criminals and to ensure that people are working with An Garda Síochána. As an organisation at the heart of communities across the country, we know how crime and the fear of crime can impact on individuals and communities, rural and urban. That is why a cornerstone of our transformation programme - policing and security with TRUST - is about taking care of communities. "TRUST" is not just a word. In this context, it is an acronym: T, taking care of our communities; R, renewing our culture; U, unified governance and leadership; S, supporting our people; and T, technology enabled. It is a five-strand transformation programme and there are a number of subsets within it.

An Garda Síochána has secured more than €200 million in Government funding for this transformation programme. Based on this funding, we are currently prioritising our key initiatives to ensure the greatest community impact. Policing and security with TRUST, which we will launch shortly, will see preventing crime from happening in the first place becoming our number one priority. When crime does happen, as it will in any society, our people will have the systems, technology and the training to ensure all crimes are professionally investigated.

Victims of crime will be placed at the heart of the work of An Garda Síochána. We will ensure there is a victim orientation. We have already begun this with the establishment of 28 victims service offices in each division throughout the country and the setting up of the Garda national protective services bureau to work with our most vulnerable victims. We will also work closely with communities to identify the crimes affecting their areas and put in place solutions that will be as locally-based as possible. A good example of this already in practice is the text alert scheme. Working with the IFA, Muintir na Tíre and Neighbourhood Watch, we set up 700 text alert groups up and down the country with more than 125,000 members. More than 1 million texts have been sent under the system to advise local communities of suspicious or criminal activity in their local area.

We are also working productively with a range of partners across the criminal justice, public and private sectors on crime prevention and detection measures in areas such as preventing the theft of farm machinery, enhancing the use of CCTV throughout the country, tackling metal theft and reducing reoffending by prolific offenders.

Policing and security with TRUST will also see our six regional assistant commissioners given greater responsibility for how policing is delivered locally within their regions. This will result in policing becoming more focused on the individual needs of each area and the communities within it. A key way of reassuring the public is to increase the visibility of gardaí and ensure they are engaging with the community. People tell us they want to see gardaí on the beat or on patrol. Our objective is to maximise the resources available and get as many gardaí as we can engaging with the community to prevent and detect crime. The benefits of recent investments in new cars and more gardaí are already being seen in communities.

Policing and security with TRUST will also see us invest in technology that will free gardaí from the burden of paperwork and enable them to spend more time in the community. It will also equip them with mobile technology and allow them to work more effectively in the field. However, technology advancement will not be a replacement for human interaction. This is what we have heard from communities. They want human interaction with members of An Garda Síochána. The reality is that we need to rebuild the number of gardaí following the recession and we have started that process. Over 500 new recruits will go through the college in Templemore this year and 600 gardaí will graduate next year. Allowing for retirements, this will give us an increase of approximately 300 gardaí each year. We have a commitment that the college in Templemore will not be shut again and that there will be continuous recruitment.

We need to augment the wide range of skills among our civilian professionals in areas such as data analytics, transformation implementation and key business areas that support the delivery of an effective policing service. In recruiting and developing people within An Garda Síochána, we need to ensure they receive the proper training and the right supports. It is important that we do not sacrifice quality for quantity. Moreover, it is critical that we provide Garda members and staff with the skills, tools and resources they need to do their jobs effectively. The ongoing recruitment and professional development, combined with the investment in the fleet, technology, accommodation and training, will allow us to enhance the service we provide for communities. It will see policing delivered in a different way from the way it was done in the past, but our focused commitment to protecting and supporting communities will remain the same.

When it comes to allocating available Garda personnel, we are revising our deployment model to take account of a range of matters, including socioeconomic factors, crime trends, the profile of current personnel in the area and the particular policing needs of each division. All of these factors will be kept under review to ensure we make the best use of our resources.

Tackling, disrupting and dismantling organised crime is a key concern for An Garda Síochána. Organised crime gangs bring misery and devastation to individuals, families and communities through murder, intimidation, drug dealing, robberies and other crimes. In recognition of the fact that organised crime gangs are involved in a range of criminal activity, in particular, drug dealing, earlier this year we amalgamated the drugs and organised crime units to leverage the experience and expertise of their members. An Garda Síochána has made many significant captures, seizures and arrests so far this year. For example, over €40 million worth of drugs has been seized, with more than 500 firearms, including high powered firearms such as assault rifles and AK-47 rifles. In recent weeks over €4 million worth of drugs has been seized, including large amounts of heroin, as well as a number of assault weapons, including submachine guns. Taking these drugs and weapons off the streets has undoubtedly saved lives both here and abroad. It cuts off large funds from gangs, funds that would have been used to commit further crimes. We will continue to take whatever action we can to disrupt and dismantle organised crime gangs. We will continue to work with a range of State bodies and NGOs to protect communities from the devastating effects of drug dealing and the supply of drugs.

By its nature, policing a border presents unique challenges and complexities. We work very closely with our colleagues in the Police Service of Northern Ireland and other agencies such as Revenue to protect communities on both sides of the Border. Together, we have had many successes in disrupting a range of criminal activity along the Border. An Garda Síochána and the PSNI maintain close liaison and exchange knowledge and experience to further enhance and deepen co-operation and joint working arrangements.

An Garda Síochána remains focused on protecting communities by being agile and adaptable and making the best use of the resources available, including the recent significant investments in people, vehicles and technology. As I remarked earlier, trust is paramount to An Garda Síochána. Without the trust and support of the community, we cannot operate effectively. After a difficult period, the indications from our public attitude surveys are that trust in An Garda Síochána has significantly improved during the past 18 months, but we are not complacent. We are committed to building on that trust and continuing to work with the support and confidence of the communities we serve.

I would welcome an opportunity to present to the committee at a future date on how our policing and security with the TRUST transformation programme is helping to modernise and professionalise An Garda Síochána to ensure we provide the people and the State with a modern, highly effective and fit-for-purpose 21st century policing and security service.