Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

I extend a welcome to this Bill but not without some misgivings and reservations. The Garda Síochána has served this nation extremely well as an unarmed Garda force over the past 83 years since the foundation of this State. It has a proud record of service to the people since the formative years of the State when its future was anything but assured.

The introduction of this legislation at the outset of this century is particularly timely and appropriate since it is generally accepted that Garda reform is a necessity given the changing circumstances of Ireland today. In the past, a famous garda used to patrol Baggot Street and dispense his own form of justice. Many people welcomed that. It was an effective form of garda patrol but today we cannot have the luxury of a garda patrolling the way that garda used to patrol Baggot Street some 30 years ago.

The force is seriously undermanned and there is unfinished business in terms of the recruitment of an additional 2,000 gardaí promised in the 2002 general election and in the 2002 programme for Government. Promises were made at that time and the people expected that extra gardaí would be recruited. The Garda expected that additional gardaí would come on stream and hopes were risen only to be dashed. The promise of an extra 2,000 gardaí indicates that the force is understaffed by 18%. That must have a serious effect on morale and on the force's ability to man different events, police towns and be at the beck and call of the public at all times. Even if the number of gardaí were doubled, that would not cure all the ills in society because it has changed. The behaviour of society has changed dramatically in recent years. What people feel they can get away with has also changed.

Another factor that cannot be overlooked is the notion of parental control. Parents have a role to play. More often than not, if a garda knocks on the door of a family home concerning a child who has misbehaved, it is more likely that the garda will get a barracking rather than the child. While there should be a balance, gardaí should have the support of the public which they do not always have. Effectively, much of the time gardaí try to perform their duties while looking over their shoulders. A garda may wonder whether to arrest a child for doing A, B or C or may think that if he or she does so, his or her life will not be worth living. That is not a good way of doing business.

We also have the concept of neighbourhood watch. When driving through a community area a number of years ago one would see signs for the neighbourhood watch scheme. I am not sure that the scheme is as effective as it should be. It is based on the notion of neighbours looking out for each other. The signposts are there but that does not mean action is being taken. There are displayed to warn off criminals and to let them know they are being watched, but I doubt if the scheme is as effective as it should be. Members of the public have a role to play in that regard. They must be additional eyes and ears for the gardaí and pass on information to them that they consider relevant.

I live in a Border constituency and crime, particularly cross-Border crime, is rife there. The Garda and the PSNI know the offenders involved in stealing and other criminal activity but unless the offenders are caught in the act of stealing or in the possession of stolen goods, little or nothing can be done about it. Special Garda task forces have been assigned to these Border groups but it is well nigh impossible to apprehend them. They are basically opportunists who walk past a car and if they see a key in the ignition, they hop into it and drive it across the Border. They will generally find a mobile number of the car owner and will contact him or her and demand money for the safe return of the car. Such incidents have happened.

There was an incident where a four-wheel-drive jeep was stolen and driven across the Border. Money was to be delivered for its safe return and when the amount handed over was not correct, the criminal almost drove the people who handed over the money off the road in an effort to point out that a certain amount of money was demanded and the owner was not prepared to pay up.

Some members of the public almost present on a plate an opportunity for criminals to steal by leaving a door unlocked or a key in the ignition of a car. The public must co-operate to a greater extent with the Garda. Gardaí need the assistance of the public. That cannot be stressed enough.

We have got into the habit of minding our own business. There was a time when people would know that if a stranger came to an area, he or she would watched or if a person called to his or her neighbour, he or she would be told that A, B or C had called to his or her house. That time is gone. We do not know what is happening in the lives of our next door neighbours. Society has gone that way.

Society should be more aware of people who might call to neighbours' houses, particularly neighbours living on their own, because there are many chancers and criminals on the move who are impossible to catch. They can move about with impunity and call to a house and if they find somebody home, they will come up with a silly excuse such as looking for a dog. Society and neighbours have a major role to play in this regard.

While I know the Garda comes in for criticism over various matters, the criminal has a new way of operating. A criminal is more likely to inform a garda of his rights than vice versa. While the Garda might know an individual is guilty, until he is caught in the act it is impossible to do anything. This reflects the type of society in which we live. The Garda needs the public's help in this regard, which cannot be underestimated.

Current recruitment appears to be barely sufficient to replace those retiring from the force, which is another bone of contention. I know of many gardaí, who are much younger than I am, who qualify for retirement but do not necessarily want to retire. As morale is low in the force and because they know they must retire at a particular age, some gardaí decide to leave and the level of early retirement can become a problem. We are losing some very experienced members of the Garda, particularly detectives who have built up a role and are well respected in society. They might have just reached the pinnacle in the performance of their duties and are told they have done their service and must go, which is very frustrating. In addition to recruiting an additional 2,000 gardaí we should also consider retaining very experienced gardaí in the force. The haemorrhage taking place is not good. If the chief executives of a business were forced to retire at the age that gardaí retire, many companies would have gone to the wall. This matter needs to be revisited.

To combat today's crime levels and the changing nature of crimes, the Garda needs to be fully resourced with state-of-the-art technology and retraining may also be required. In the past gardaí were trained in observational skills. However, gardaí now need many more new skills and some of them may need to be retrained to deal with today's criminal.

The establishment of the Garda ombudsman commission receives two cheers. An office along the lines of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland would be less unwieldy. Ms O'Loan has discharged her duties with equanimity and no little skill, and has engendered considerable respect from all sides in the North. The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has proven to be most effective in investigating police complaints and building public confidence. It is generally perceived that the Garda complaints board has had problems with accountability and there was a deficit in public confidence. I do not believe an ombudsman commission of three individuals is necessary when the Northern ombudsman has had such an impeccable record since her appointment. However, it is welcome that the new ombudsman commission will enjoy complete independence from the Garda in that none of its members will be gardaí, and this should help gain public confidence. There will no longer be concern over complaints against the Garda being investigated by gardaí.

One of the functions will be to investigate certain practices, policies and procedures of the Garda Síochána, thus ensuring that no lower-ranking garda is made a scapegoat. This practice happened in the past and was not healthy. It is evident that the provisions for the ombudsman commission have been influenced by the recommendations of the Patten report. A major recommendation of that report was the establishment of a police authority. This could have been adopted to advantage here by the establishment of a Garda authority. In the all-party negotiations in the North, strenuous efforts have been made to get Sinn Féin to join the Northern Ireland Policing Board. However, having an equivalent authority here seems unacceptable.

Appointments in the upper ranks of the Garda are still carried out on a political basis, which can be seen as a type of political patronage. For many years the allocation of State briefs was done on a political basis and was finally taken out of the hands of politicians in the late 1970s when the last gravy train had rolled out of the four goldmines. Subsequently, judicial appointments were partly de-politicised by their transfer to a commission which submits a shortlist to Government for final selection. Similarly, senior Garda officer appointments, from superintendent up to Commissioner, are still in the gift of the Government of the day, which is hardly satisfactory. While I do not cast any aspersions on the individuals appointed, it does not send the right signal. A Garda authority should have exclusive responsibility for such appointments, thus bringing real change in the manner of appointment and promotion in the upper ranks of the Garda Síochána. Appointments and promotions throughout the force should be free of political influence and should be made independently, transparently and purely on merit and overall suitability. In legal circles it has long been the perception that young barristers and solicitors needed to align themselves with one of the main political parties to progress in their chosen calling. Rightly or wrongly, this is a general perception, and we have all seen prominent examples in the main political parties.

It is perceived that a garda needs to be well connected to particular Garda officers to progress on the promotion ladder to the pinnacle of the force. By placing such promotions in the hands of a Garda authority, the Minister would strike a major blow for the concept of promotion solely on the grounds of ability. The notion that promotions were carried out on political grounds would also be dispelled, with a consequent boost for morale within the force. A Garda authority would also be in a position to organise transparently independent interview boards to provide for promotions within the force at levels lower than superintendent. It is here that the independent nature of such a Garda authority would come into its own with wide representation from various community organisations.

The proposals for volunteer Garda reserve members or "generic gardaí" are ill-considered and not fully-thought out. Considering the amount of training over three years that applies to full-time gardaí in the Garda training college, it would be impossible for these part-timers to perform full-time policing duties. What criteria would be laid down for them and how would they relate to the public? How would they be selected and resourced? Would the Garda have any responsibility to the family of a volunteer who was injured or even killed in the line of duty? We have had occurrences of Garda recruits being killed in the past having been brought out of Templemore at short notice and one must ask what would happen in the event of a lack of training. Would their medical and other bills be taken care of in a period of protracted illness or injury?

I submit that the proposals for volunteer gardaí amount to an attempt to recruit replacements for the 2,000 extra gardaí that the Government has failed so far to deliver. The period of training cannot be overlooked. Putting in people who are not properly trained or resourced does not send the right message and would create a second-rate member of the Garda. To whom would they be accountable? If they only perform a few hours' duty per week, it would be necessary to sign up many more than 2,000 to provide adequate coverage, which would not be good for the morale of the force. Why should we believe that 15,000 or 20,000 suitable recruits would volunteer for a police force? The spirit of volunteering is hardly alive and well in post-Celtic tiger Ireland to that extent. Many issues remain to be teased out. This proposal was tossed out without a full exploration or discussion of its consequences with the proper authorities. It is always healthy to discuss proposals of this nature with representative bodies, in this case the Garda Representative Association, which have useful contributions to make. Before appointing a new force without adequate training it would be useful to listen to the views and ideas of members of the force, but I understand this did not take place.

With a current complement of 12,000 Garda members, Ireland's ratio of police to 100,000 population is still well below the European average. The raw fact is that we do not have the necessary numbers. Many rural barracks are being closed down, specifically in my area where stations have hitherto been well manned. This development has not gone unnoticed among criminals who are well aware that the only available police resource in large areas of north Monaghan at night is a single Garda car.

Gardaí must think long and hard before apprehending a person committing a minor public order offence. They must consider the time, resources and effort required to take the person in question into custody, given that no gardaí will be available to look after the needs of the community while the case of the individual in question is being processed. Criminals make hay, so to speak, during the periods when the Garda is under-resourced. It is common in my area for crime to be committed during daylight hours when Garda resources are stretched. These problems must be addressed.

With rising levels of violent crime and a growing culture of drink, drugs and violence, the promised 2,000 additional gardaí are needed more than ever. The Government has barely two years left in which to implement its commitment, which means an additional 1,000 gardaí will have to be recruited this year and next if it is to keep faith with the public. My reservations notwithstanding, I intend to support the Bill.

I trust the Minister will take on board some of my suggestions. I appeal to members of the public not to stand back, point a finger at the Garda and argue it must do more. Instead, we must ask what we can do to make life easier for gardaí and assist them in the performance of their functions.

See this speech in context