Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Flanagan asked a question in regard to our response. We brought forward the normal security meeting which I would have on a constant basis with the Garda Commissioner and included the Taoiseach so that he could be totally apprised of the situation.

The Deputy referred to the budget cut in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. When the DPP made his statement publicly, he had not raised the matter with me and I checked with my Department and found that at no stage had he raised it with the Department. It must be said that the Department to which he has reference — he made this point in the radio interview — is the Department of Finance. The Taoiseach answered validly on the issue regarding the 3% cut across the public sector and regarding the DPP. At no stage has the office of the DPP indicated to us or to the Garda Síochána that he is any difficulty or that there were any delays in regard to the processing of cases. There has been, particularly in the past three years, an increase in resources for the DPP.

With regard to the Garda cut, Deputy Rabbitte referred earlier to a post hoc explanation or justification for a cut in other areas of the Department. I want to answer Deputy Flanagan in this respect. There was a 1.7% overall cut in my Department, and that was the average in all Departments apart from the three main Departments of Health and Children, Education and Science and Social and Family Affairs, which had a gain, albeit lower than normal. There was a cut of approximately 1.7% to 1.8% in my Department. One week before the budget, Fine Gael in its document called for the existing departmental budgets for 2009 to be frozen at 2008 levels and, on top of that, a 3% cut, which in effect would have been a 5.5% cut in my Department. The actual cut was 1.7%.

Given the fact there was a cut in my Department, I was faced with the situation where I had to dedicate resources to areas where I considered there was a priority. It was not a post hoc decision or justification. I made a decision with regard to the softer elements of my Department which were not tackling crime, putting more gardaí on the street, keeping prisoners in prison or dealing with the prison issue, and I told my officials to concentrate on those key issues.

I must accept there has been a dramatic cut across the Department, not just with regard to human rights, equality and issues to do with gender equality. I did this because I made tackling crime the priority in my Department. The Garda Commissioner is taking a cut of €1.8 million in overtime this year and up to €80 million next year. I insisted to him that Operation Anvil would continue, with €20 million plus €1 million extra, and that this be ring-fenced in the overtime in order to ensure it would not be used for any overtime issue other than tackling organised crime and Operation Anvil.

Although I made these decisions three months ago, in the run-up to the budget I read in the newspapers that the Minister was to order a freeze in recruitment. I did not order a freeze in recruitment. Given that I was dedicating resources to extra gardaí on the street, as we all accept that the people want to see more gardaí on the street, between now and the end of 2009 there will be an increase in the number of gardaí on the street from 14,200 to 14,900, and 400 new gardaí will be taken on in addition to the 1,100 who are currently in training. This is so we do not reverse the very dramatic increase in garda numbers that has taken place. There was such a dramatic increase in the last two years that Templemore, which had been hugely built up, that it was not even big enough to take the numbers that were going through. The Government must be given some credit in that it has put in the resources.

With regard to Limerick specifically, apart from Dublin there are probably more gardaí per head of population in Limerick than elsewhere. There has been 24-hour covert and overt surveillance. The ERU has been present there on a constant basis. The new regional support unit, which was one of the first Garda units on the scene of the tragic death of Shane Geoghegan last week, is dedicated to the southern region, which includes Limerick. There is a myriad of other initiatives in the areas of juvenile justice liaison and youth services for Limerick. CCTV cameras are in the city centre and in all of the major estates——

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