Mr. Ronan Slevin:

The Deputy is correct. We must then ask ourselves about the value to the State and the community. On top of that, suspended members would have been dealing with pending prosecutions that no doubt have been struck out. These prosecutions probably relate to cases that are serious in themselves, such as road traffic safety matters, etc. One has to question whether a member on suspension may have had the prosecution of a drunk driving case dismissed. God forbid there were to be a serious road traffic collision as a result of that person not being prosecuted. This situation is definitely not giving value to the State.