Cecilia Keaveney (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)

This Bill has the potential to bring the justice process and the Garda closer to the community. I hope it will do this. Sometimes it is not right to mention the Judiciary specifically in the House but we cannot deal with a Garda Síochána Bill without looking at all the factions involved. Coming from County Donegal where the Garda Síochána has received one of its greatest batterings in the history of the State, through the tribunals, this is a time when not only the people of the county but the Garda are getting a bad name and are being tarred with the one brush unnecessarily. This Bill is a move in the right direction to send a positive message about the Garda. In that respect I am pleased it is before the House, particularly the elements dealing with joint policing and the concept of working with people on the ground, those with an electoral mandate and, I hope, health and other services which are obvious partners in engaging with issues that arise daily.

When I became a Member, few Garda stations in County Donegal had a fax machine, a computer and a printer. I came from a school in Derry that had everything from photocopying facilities through to a fund of €40,000 for instruments. I also found that Members did not have a telephone with an answering machine or fax machine. Thankfully, we have moved on.

See this speech in context