Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I think everyone forgets that currently we have approximately 2,000 civilians working within the Garda force. We also have 935 members of the Garda Reserve, which did not exist some years ago. As Deputy O'Brien knows, because of current economic circumstances, we are not in a position to expand employment in these areas. However, they are backups which the gardaí would not have had available to them a decade ago at those levels and it is easy to ignore them.

In regard to the Garda rosters, I very much welcome the fact the new rosters have come into force. I thank the representative organisations for their co-operation in the discussions that have taken place to bring the Garda rosters into force. It is early days but I am advised that the roster system is working extremely well and that it is having the benefit that members of the force are now available on days of the week when the most need arises and that there is a new focus in the manner in which policing can take place.

I think they are also more user-friendly for members of the force. I was fortunate this week to have had conversations with a couple of members of the force who told me how beneficial they found the rosters. I did not go looking for the conversations, but the members spoke to me about the new hours and how those impact on their lives. It has been a successful start to the new rostering system. The roster is to the benefit of the community, ensures that we use our resources more wisely and in a more targeted way and will provide for a better work-life experience for members of An Garda Síochána.

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