Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

In addition to Operation Anvil there was Operation Crossover which cost in the region of €4 million. With €6.5 million for Operation Anvil, that is an extra €10 million on top of the existing €80 million overtime in the budget for the Garda Síochána. Does the Minister not agree that running the Garda and formulating a strategy to deal with crime should not rely on overtime? He spent three years in an industrial dispute where he closed down a number of prisons to reduce overtime for the Prison Service. Now he is expanding overtime for the Garda.

Can I ask the Minister why he has not recruited the 2,000 gardaí that were promised three years ago? Why does he rely on overtime to do his policing when the Garda Commissioner cannot plan properly from one year to the next for how he will allocate his resources to ensure he can combat crime throughout the country at all times? Will he dispense with this sporadic, ad hoc response to crises as they arise?

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