Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Teachta Murphy as a cuid ama a roinnt liom chomh maith. Tááthas orm deis a fháil labhairt ar an mBille um Cheartas Coiriúil 2004. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil neart moltaí ann a tháinig ó ghrúpa saineolais agus is fiú iad a phlé. Tuigim go bhfuil siad ag iarraidh an dlí a thabhairt suas chun dáta ar go leor bealaí. Ag an am céanna, áfach, ní ceist dlíí atá idir lámha anseo. Táimid ag caint ar éifeacht an Gharda Síochána agus an chórais choiriúla, agus sa deireadh thiar thall, beidh na torthaí ar na hathruithe sin níos tábhachtaí ná aon chineál díospóireachta.

While this legislation may to a certain extent update measures relating to DNA and mobile phones, in the area of north County Dublin that I represent people will continue to ask where are the gardaí. In 1988 more gardaí were stationed in Balbriggan Garda station than are stationed there today. That area is often referred to as one of the fastest developing suburbs. One can see the houses being built and detect the increased population from increased level of traffic on the roads and the increased level of activity at night, some of it responsible and more of it irresponsible. This means that there is an increased demand for additional gardaí. Although the Government makes considerable play about the provision of an additional 2,000 gardaí, it is out of touch with reality for it to say that those gardaí will be available soon.

As to whether there will be any increase in the number of gardaí available when account is taken of natural wastage and the impact of low morale which drives members to leave it is a moot point. Quite a number of the additional gardaí will be assigned to the traffic corps. There is probably a cynical explanation for that, namely, that the traffic corps can derive revenue from road traffic offences. The Minister of State can tell me if I am correct in my assumption. If that is the case, it will result in further lowering of morale among members of the force and a greater problem in our communities which are crying out for additional gardaí.

I ask the Minister of State to relay this message in the strongest terms to his senior Minister and the Department. We cannot continue for much longer in this vein. We are sitting on the equivalent of a community timebomb. The complement of gardaí is absolutely frustrated over what they are being expected to do They have additional duties, to do with drug-related offences and the multicultural nature of society as it has developed and any number of special responsibilities. The result is there is enormous reluctance to confront what needs to be done among many gardaí, and not out of any unwillingness. They simply realise that if they pursue relatively minor breaches of the law, incrementally, when these are accumulated the amount of administrative time involved means other work is not done. I know of a number of gardaí whose desks even surpass that of a Deputy in terms of the paperload. I ask the Minister of State to take this on board.

Balbriggan, which I represent, is supposed to be in the Drogheda and general Meath-Louth area. It ought to be in the Dublin metropolitan area. It is effectively a part of Dublin. Garda questioning in the case of the raid on the Lusk post office, for example, which involved a number of fatalities, had to be done at Swords. The facilities were just not available. It is a false demarcation line to say that Swords is in the Dublin metropolitan area and Balbriggan is somehow tied to Meath and Louth. Reform is needed to bring the Garda up to date as well as legislation. That requires extra gardaí and improved structures as well.

In the Department of Education and Science there is already great reliance on the Garda as regards Oberstown and Trinity House. Gardaí, who all come from Balbriggan, are involved in an enormous amount of travel around the country. That is wholly unfair and deprives the local area of much needed gardaí.

The bilingual nature of this legislation is presented on the Bill's cover page. The Garda Síochána, up to now, has had a strong identification with both Irish-speaking and English-speaking citizens. However, I detect a development emanating from the Government to the effect that in the interests of multiculturalism the Irish language requirement will not be as rigorous. The reaction I have had to that has been quite strong. The Minister of State may be surprised to learn that most of this reaction has come from non-nationals, who are very much part of Ireland, as they see it. They are willing and very much expect to learn Irish. I teach adult classes in Irish on a Friday evening, which are attended by a considerable number of non-nationals. I hope the Minister might reflect on this and review the whole situation in context. People coming to this country do not expect to be treated any less "Irish" than Irish people. I hope it is recognised that groups such as I Measc, which is an organisation for non-nationals in Ireland, feel Irish and want to learn the language. They often speak and work through Irish, whether as journalists, translators or members of communities where their children attend Gaelscoileanna. I hope we do not just rush our fences and assume that someone might not want to or is unable to speak Irish. That is not the case.

As mentioned earlier, we must be careful in addressing the whole area of petty crime, as it is correctly called, and see matters in context. The euphemism of antisocial behaviour sometimes means we can lose a sense of reality.about this. I work with the Balbriggan Awareness of Drugs Group. The Minister of State may be aware of it from various correspondence sent to him. The emphasis there is on liaising with members of the Garda Síochána and working with parents. The parent to parent courses, voluntarily undertaken and which have considerable support, are producing the types of results the Government needs to support. They involve parents dealing with parenting, and as a result, preventing the types of problem that very often the Government focuses on to the exclusion of the cause. If parent to parent courses could be replicated around the country this would obviate the need for antisocial behavioural orders. Parents could be held to account much more, they would know what to do and be better equipped for the job in hand. Parenting is the most important role that any adult could be asked to undertake.

There is much food for thought in this legislation. Beyond that, we must focus on the reality. For many communities it is not about the legislation, but rather where the gardaí are. They want to see more gardaí on the streets.

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