Mr. Ronan Clogher:

The Commissioner retains operational responsibility for the strategic outlet of resources. We had a number of high-profile incidents in Dublin in recent years. In every town in Ireland, there is a problem with Garda visibility. There is no Garda visibility. No more so than in Cork, it is important Garda visibility be there, particularly in the city centre. The Commissioner allocates resources. Sometimes, members come to Dublin and are later transferred out of Dublin. That facility exists in order to allow members who are from that region to move back down there. The policing need and demand is looked at, however, and the Commissioner allocates as he sees fit at the time. The problem that exists in Cork exists in every town. It arises out of the operating model. Our association conducted a survey about high-visibility policing and more than 90% said the operating model was not helping in this regard.