Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I do not ask this question in any spirit of confrontation. The view I have outlined is that of the Garda inspectorate, as set out in this serious review, and there is no point in trying to whitewash it. The Minister should not try to dodge the question about how many Garda stations have e-mail by referring to network connections.

I draw the Minister's attention to the number of gardaí who are tied up in duties that could be done by civilians. The civilianisation programme has been used only to recruit additional civilians, not to release gardaí from administrative duties to the front line of fighting crime. The Minister says he has done X and Y since assuming office. Let us look at an example of what he has done. He has issued instructions regarding the requirement on gardaí to take a long-hand note of interviews even though they are now electronically conducted, but no progress has been made on this matter. The Minister tells me that a pilot programme is at an advantaged stage but, because of the complexities involved, it is likely that any new system will take some time to complete and, therefore, a definitive timeframe cannot be given. What can be so complicated about taking the necessary action to ensure valuable Garda time is no longer wasted in taking long-hand notes of electronically recorded interviews? What does it take to bring modern management procedures to bear on the operation of the Garda Síochána?

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