Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

The Garda Síochána Inspectorate was established under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 and forms a key part of the arrangements which the Government has put in place to support the Garda Síochána in pursuing best policing practice across the range of its functions. This report was mandated by my predecessor and I welcome its findings. It is the sixth such report and its focus is on the allocation of Garda resources.

The best international police forces undergo a continual process of development and improvement and the Garda Síochána has engaged in a major programme of reform in recent years including in the use of technology. The reports of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate are an important part of that process and have been very supportive of the reforms underway in the force. As part of that ongoing process, the Garda Commissioner and his management team have enthusiastically implemented the majority of recommendations contained in the previous inspectorate reports and will continue to do so. Progress in implementing the recommendations is updated regularly on the websites of both the force and the inspectorate.

This report contains many positive recommendations on how the fluctuating demand for policing services can be better measured and how Garda resources can be efficiently deployed to meet that demand. Key to this will be the use of technology, such as command and control, computer-aided dispatch, and human resource, HR, systems and the introduction of new and more effective roster systems. The aim is to maximise the number of frontline gardaí in the right place at the right time, building on the significant investment recently made in Garda technology and resources.

These are significant and welcome recommendations which should be of significant assistance to the Garda Commissioner and his team as they build on recent progress in making maximum use of resources. Garda management already has a series of well-developed proposals for many of the key initiatives envisaged in the report, such as a new command and control system, a new computer-aided despatch system and a new human resource management system. This ambitious programme builds on the recent and unprecedented investment in Garda technology which has seen the new national digital radio service being rolled out across the force, a new automated fingerprint and ballistics identification system, a new automated number plate recognition system and significant enhancements to the Pulse system. In all, investment in Garda ICT programmes is currently running at approximately €70 million per year and in this coming year, it is estimated to be more than €80 million.

I welcome the report and will fully support the Garda Commissioner as he continues to implement and expand a wide-ranging programme of reform which effectively addresses the issues identified in it.

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