Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

We have had a full and constructive debate, with contributions from all sides of the House. I will read the transcript in some detail as I had to repair for nutrition at one stage of the debate, and I will draw the concerns raised by Deputies to the attention of the Garda Commissioner.

I thank Deputy Charles Flanagan for giving a commitment on behalf of Fine Gael to co-operate with me in initiatives launched to tackle crime. It is important, whatever may divide us, that a strong message goes out from this House that all sides are united in our determination that crime will be addressed.

I welcome Deputy Flanagan's support for the establishment of a DNA database, for which I will bring proposals before the House. I will be interested to hear Deputy Flanagan's views on the uses to which such a database might be put. A balance must be struck between security and liberty. We may need to strike a new balance. I look forward to hearing from the Deputy where that balance might be struck in establishing a database.

Deputy Flanagan also called for the introduction of a national identity card. Again, I am interested to hear his views on what data such a card should contain, who should be required to hold it and the sanctions that would apply to those who fail to hold it when they should. I am bringing proposals to Government on the options in regard to an essential preliminary to this, namely, that in the first instance we record the location at which every person in the State resides.

Deputy Flanagan also suggested we should examine remission rates for prisoners. I recently signed new prison rules which are now in force and cover a wide range of issues, including that of remission.

Deputy Rabbitte made the case for establishing a police authority. It is a matter of record that I am not in favour of this, although I am not sure that in the short time available I can outline all my reasons for that. I hope it is an issue we can explore on another occasion. However, I make this point — Deputy Rabbitte referred to the fact that when parliamentary questions were tabled in the House, no adequate information could be obtained on operational matters. Were we to establish a police authority, that authority would find itself in precisely the same position this House finds itself vis-À-vis the operational side of the Garda Síochána. It could not of necessity intervene in operational matters because under our legal system the Garda's operational functions are accountable to the courts and the civil law, and are performed in that way. It does not seem to me that the argument in regard to the Garda authority turns on this point.

The idea of such an authority makes perfectly good sense in the context of the United Kingdom regional police structure, where there is no corresponding regional democratic unit, and in Northern Ireland. However, one point that is often overlooked with regard to the Northern Ireland Policing Board by those who suggest a similar authority for the Garda Síochána is that the Patten Commission recommended that a majority of the members of the board be from the elected Northern Ireland Assembly. I look forward to returning to this topic with Deputy Rabbitte and exploring whether the structures we have established go some way to meeting the concerns I know he has in this area.

The work of the Garda Inspectorate and the high level group, which has reported to me, have been of great assistance to me in implementing a reform programme involving the introduction of civilianisation at Garda Headquarters and examining the structures and operational techniques of the Garda. The reports of the inspector, to which a number of Deputies referred, have been very valuable in charting the direction we should take in the context of the reform of the Garda Síochána.

Deputy Rabbitte referred to community policing, which I agree is vital. In line with the Garda Síochána policing plan for 2007, the Garda Commissioner is currently preparing a new national model of community policy. A public consultation process was recently completed and in preparing this new model the Garda Síochána is considering a wide range of issues, including service delivery, partnerships, the process of problem solving and accountability.

Several Deputies referred to and welcomed the new local policing committees. One issue I raised with the Garda Commissioner in this regard is the need to harmonise Garda divisional boundaries with the boundaries of the relevant local authorities. This issue has caused considerable difficulty in many areas where gardaí have found themselves reporting to several authorities. It is essential that there be a harmonisation. I know work on this subject is at an advanced stage at Garda Headquarters.

Several Deputies raised the question of the surveillance of our maritime space and the ease with which our coastal area could be accessed by vessels from other countries smuggling drugs to Ireland. Last Sunday, I signed a treaty in Lisbon establishing a new European centre for the surveillance of traffic that would possibly have narcotic cargoes. It will focus on interdicting large maritime cocaine shipments into Europe. The headquarters is based in Lisbon. It will involve staff of the Revenue Commissioners and members of the Garda Síochána and Naval Service working with their counterparts in six other states on the western Atlantic at a central intelligence centre in Lisbon. Seven European Union member states, including Ireland, participate in the programme at this stage. The pooling of intelligence resources drawn from naval, customs and police services will result in an improvement in the monitoring of suspicious vessels heading towards our waters and in the waters of the north Atlantic generally. I thank Deputies for their contributions and undertake to bring their concerns to the attention of the Garda.

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