John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)

I congratulate Deputy Cregan on his elevation to the Chair. Earlier during this debate, my party spokesman called for a radically different approach to policing. I am not sure I agree with that statement because we have been aware for several years of the core difficulties facing policing. It is more a matter of emphasis. I understand the Minister has asked his Cabinet colleagues to identify the priorities as regards policing and I presume he will receive some good suggestions. However, one could learn about local policing issues in the local bingo hall and, as a Minister of State in the Department for five years, I would hope he is aware of the issues.

A Government spokesman stated after yesterday's Cabinet meeting that the overall situation was not that bad, apart from the fact that the figures for gangland killings were not very good. That reminded me of comments made by the former mayor of Washington DC, Marion Barry, to the effect that crime figures were not bad if one did not count the killings.

I have been in the Dáil for the past five years, during which time the emphasis has unfortunately been on legislative measures as a means of cleaning the streets. The Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 2003 was completely useless, as were ASBOs. Tough measures to make judges impose reasonable sentences on people in possession of illegal firearms or in respect of drugs offences have been almost completely useless. For the past few weeks, the new Minister has discussed mandatory drug testing in prisons, fraud bureaus for financial crimes and codes of conduct for internet service providers. These are important issues but should not be his main priorities.

The Chief Inspector of the Garda Inspectorate, Kathleen O'Toole, identified police visibility, community policing, proper training, greater use of Garda time, civilians behind desks in Garda stations and pooled resources in rural stations as the main priorities for the service. Her comments were interesting because she reminded us that the core problems were the same five and ten years ago. Sometimes politicians avoid the obvious purely because it has been raised a million times. The minutiae of policing needs to be frequently debated and reviewed. Ms O'Toole reminded us that small structural and operational changes in the way we police will have a far greater effect than a raft of criminal legislation. I am aware that the prospect of discussing visibility, community policing and civilianisation for the next five years may not sound glamorous to a new Minister but that should be his job. The last time we had a new Minister, we had a number of well intentioned speeches on these matters but little was done. The Minister needs to get CCTV cameras up and running and ensure young gardaí are on a first name basis with the families and young people they serve. That is the nitty gritty of policing.

I do not mean to offend the Minister or his profession but maybe we do not need another barrister or senior counsel in his office. Maybe we would be better off with an ex-police officer such as Kathleen O'Toole. The Minister needs to leave the Four Courts behind him and concentrate on the streets, the barracks and the estates. If he does that, he might be successful.

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