Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister appears to be content to remain hamstrung by what he perceives was agreed by the Fianna Fáil Party when it was in office previously. I listened this morning to the Tánaiste, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, as he tried, in self-congratulatory mode, to outline what the Government has achieved, or failed to achieve, in the past two years. Three times, the Tánaiste indicated the Government had renegotiated aspects of the agreement with the troika. The Minister does not appear to have renegotiated anything for the benefit of the Garda Síochána.

On 5 January last, Tom Brady reported in the Irish Independent that the Garda payroll budget was sufficient to pay only 12,000 Garda members. Similar reports by the same journalist featured in the same newspaper on 9 and 15 January. Given that Tom Brady does not make up his reports, there must be some substance to them.

I submitted a freedom of information request to the Department seeking copies of the documents that have passed between the Department and Garda Síochána on this matter. The former denied that the payroll budget allocated to the Garda was inadequate. My request was refused this week on the basis that access to the records concerned could, in the opinion of the head, reasonably be expected to disclose positions taken or to be taken or plans to be used or followed for the purpose of any negotiation to be carried out or being carried out. It is obvious that some form of negotiation is taking place between the Department and Garda Síochána. Does the Garda have an adequate payroll budget to pay the approximately 13,400 members of the force? Will the Department enter into negotiations with the Garda representative associations to reduce Garda numbers by as many as 1,400 members by offering a three year career break, as has been reported? The Department has denied this is the case, the Minister has not spoken on the issue and my freedom of information request has been refused. Will the Minister shed some light on this matter? When I raised the issue previously he was less than clear about what was the position.

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