Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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On morale, I acknowledge there are issues in the organisation, as there are in any organisation. Many of the measures that have been put in place, from additional funding to new policies, and from supporting gardaí to increasing overall numbers, were put in place to respond to existing challenges. On pay and conditions, An Garda Síochána is now part of the Building Momentum pay talks for the first time since 2020, which are upcoming and that is a welcome development. It is important that all the associations are part of those discussions. I support them in that.

On policing more generally, while having a station in an area is important - there is a presence on the ground - it is also important to ensure individual members are operating locally. Community gardaí play a vital role for the elderly or those living in isolation. The overall objective of the new community policing operating model is that each area would have its own community garda who the population would be able to identify, whose number they would have, who they could engage with and who would engage with community groups. In my county recently, we had a community alert meeting in one of the local areas. Gardaí came, gave advice and were able to engage with the community as a whole. That is invaluable. The intention is to ensure a community policing resource is available in every area in every county, but we need more gardaí to ensure those teams are populated. That brings me back to my number one priority, which is to ensure we have as many members as possible.

On the drugs issue, I agree it is everywhere. There are a number of ways in which we collectively and An Garda Síochána can respond to it. It is not only about specialised teams on the ground trying to deal with those who are selling drugs into our communities, especially organised crime groups; it is also about building the relationships we need at an international level to be able to take out the organised crime groups that have moved abroad. A huge amount of work has been done, focused on the Kinahan organised crime group, but more recently relationships have been developed with our counterparts in South America where many of the drugs come from. An Garda Síochána has had great success in recent months with massive seizures, but we know it is just the tip of the iceberg. There is more work to do, but we and An Garda Síochána are absolutely committed to it. It is also about ensuring we work with young people at the earliest stage possible. The investment in our youth justice strategy is to try to divert young people from getting into the life we are starting to see take over more and more communities, so that there are diversion routes for young people at an earlier stage. That is the reason for the increase in our funding for the youth justice strategy. It has increased significantly in recent years.

On missing persons, we have undertaken work on a comprehensive database, working with Forensic Science Ireland, so that we can make matches in areas where technology and science has evolved over the years. Specifically, that relates to bodies that have not been identified. Separately, An Garda Síochána continues to reopen cold cases. In recent weeks, we have seen it seeking information people might be able to provide as a shred of evidence. It is all about bringing clarity to families who do not have it and potentially bringing loved ones home.

Every effort is being made, working with the Garda, Forensic Science Ireland and others, to do what we can for those families. It is hugely difficult and traumatic. A day is coming up where we remember those families in particular. That case is ongoing, so I cannot comment on it.