Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

I propose to share time with Deputies Ó Snodaigh and Cuffe.

The Garda Síochána is about to experience the most radical change since the formation of the force. The Garda unions recently accepted the most recent national wage agreement, Towards 2016, with 69% of its members in favour. That sounds very positive and most people would be happy with that level of acceptance. No matter what is put in front of some people, they will always vote against it because they feel more can be obtained. It would be great if the majority actually voted on this agreement, but these figures mask the fact that only 31.2% of the 10,000 members of the Garda Síochána cast their ballots. Almost 7,000 gardaí did not think it worthwhile to cast their vote on a national wage agreement. We have to ask why that is the case. Of the 3,000 who voted, 1,000 rejected the deal. I suggest there is quite a large number of unhappy campers in the Garda force at present, about 8,000. This dark fact is the most eloquent statement as regards the demoralisation that pervades the force and must give the Minister serious cause for thought. There are serious issues here that must be dealt with. This fact did not just impinge on me in terms of their acceptance of this particular agreement.

I have no doubt a slumbering giant lurks beneath the surface here in terms of what would appear to be a routine acceptance of Towards 2016. I believe the Minister will disturb this at his peril. A minority of gardaí signed up to the agreement a week ago in the name of the entire force. Why would they not? They have a cost of living increase to which they are well entitled. Neither the Minister nor I had to sign up for anything like this. We did not have to sign up to a longer working term or whatever. That was not put in front of us in this House, yet it was for the gardaí. They were, in effect, blackmailed into accepting what they agreed to. It was made clear to the gardaí that a number of conditions and demands were attaching. One of these was total acceptance and compliance with the Garda Síochána Act, with which the rank and file gardaí have absolutely no difficulty. Gardaí believe the Minister has had his victory in relation to the Garda Reserve and that their noses have been rubbed in that regard. It was made clear to the force that gardaí must accept the newly introduced Garda reserve as one of the ingredients for benchmarking. In other words the Minister is buying the co-operation of gardaí by including this condition in the benchmarking process. This was on the basis that the Garda Reserve cannot possibly work without the co-operation of the full-time force.

The Minister was also buying the goodwill of gardaí as regards taking the novice force on board, helping to train the new members and looking after and encouraging them. This is a very poor start and relations have got off on a bad foot. This is a poor way to negotiate, to put a price on the head of the Garda Reserve. If an argument cannot stand on its own merits it should not be included. It was linked into a pay deal and that is the wrong way to go forward if the Minister wants the Garda Reserve to be accepted. It is not the way to do business. There is an element of bribery involved and the gardaí had no option. It will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of gardaí for quite a long time. There will be bitterness between the Garda Reserve and the full-time force. Why did only 31% of these people think it worth their while to vote? Why did a further 33% of those who voted reject the deal? There is a good deal of discontent and it will show its face somewhere along the line.

The whole idea of a reserve force has been rubbished by one of America's top police officers, the Dublin-born Mr. John Timoney, the former New York police commissioner. Perhaps he is getting it wrong, too. Mr. Timoney, who turned crime around in New York in the mid-1990s, said a reserve force would not work, because the Garda could not rely on volunteers. This is a man who has been there, done that and has a successful track record. This man should be listened to. I would listen to what he has to say. He says Ireland needs full-time gardaí, rather than part-timers, and pointed to the example of New York, with its population of 8 million, having 40,000 full-time police officers and 10,000 full-time civilian workers. On the other hand, all of Ireland, with half the population of New York has a mere 12,000 full-time gardaí. The figures speak for themselves.

Meanwhile our under-funded, numerically challenged and poorly equipped full-time gardaí are performing exceptionally well within their limited resources. Gardaí have been promised new equipment and patrol cars for several years. In fairness the equipment is beginning to materialise, but very slowly. The force's transport fleet manager, Mr. Noel Hanlon, the former ambulance manufacturer, is reputed to have received a tranche of money to purchase new cars, but is said to have returned it, unspent. I want to know whether he returned the money and if he is on a bonus for purchasing particular equipment. Garda stations should not be forced to wait for new cars while crime continues to rise, which just leads to demoralisation within the force. There appears to be plenty of money for capital projects such as buildings but there seems to be a problem once planning permission has been obtained. The force is still awaiting equipment after ten years of promises. They have been promised stab-proof vests, and the long-awaited TETRA radio digitalised system. This has been a major issue for gardaí for a very long time. We have all heard that criminals know as much about what is happening within the Garda Síochána as the gardaí. Gardaí have been reduced to using their own mobile phones if they want to contact their stations. These are issues which should be dealt with and are causing a great deal of demoralisation within the force.

All these items have been sought for years as part of the Garda modernisation programme. Chief Inspector Kathleen O'Toole has been talking about the civilianisation of the force — recruiting civilians for positions in finance, human resources and IT. Ordinary gardaí want the civilianisation of the force. Instead of the man or woman in the street who has worked their way up through the system to end up in finance or human resources, they want civilians to do this type of white collar work, and will co-operate in this regard. There is a willingness within the Garda that should be tapped into. The issue of co-operation with the new Garda Reserve was very badly handled and was pushed on gardaí, with no room for negotiation. If something is pushed on people they will be defeated. It was a David and Goliath-type exercise and David obviously won in this instance. It would be much better for the Minister to listen to gardaí and try to offer them something other than a threat of taking away a wage increase to which he, I and everyone else are entitled. Basically, the proposal states that civilians could perform non-police duties. Such a suggestion would receive widespread acceptance among gardaí. The recruitment of civilians to full-time important management and support positions alongside sworn officers would be welcomed. This change was also suggested by the Garda inspectorate and by the advisory group on Garda management and leadership development, chaired by Senator Maurice Hayes. It proposed one of the most radical changes to the Garda Síochána since its foundation in 1922, with civilians in key senior positions including the senior command staff.

Civilian staffing currently stands at about 12% whereas in similar modern forces the norm is around 25%. That is the way forward. We need to be in a position where gardaí are not behind desks or doing tasks for which they are ill-suited. Their role is to police the community and that is where they want to be. I hope the Minister will take some of my comments on board.

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