Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----to pay the salaries that must be paid. I remained quiet while the Deputy was asking his questions of me. He is great at asking questions, but the truth is that he has no answers. He does not like my answers, which is why he feels the need to interrupt. The simple reality is that we have provided the funding to An Garda Síochána to preserve numbers at a higher level than was envisaged by the Deputy's party in government.

His party in government envisaged the numbers being down to 13,000 by the end of 2012. However, his party in government had no financial allocations that would facilitate any recruitment in 2013. We managed to maintain numbers at 13,400 at the commencement of this year and we now have to address the issue, namely, the gap of €300 million that must be addressed in the context of the public sector wage bill. I cannot be blind to that. It is my hope that the further discussions taking place under the aegis of the Labour Relations Commission will prove to be successful or helpful in addressing these matters.

These are issues on which my Cabinet colleagues must reflect, following upon the further discussions that are taking place. I as Minister have to ensure that when we commence a recruitment campaign, which we will do, I have the funding to pay the salaries of those who are recruited to An Garda Síochána. Unlike the Deputy, I cannot magic up funds that do not exist. It was that type of politics that got this State into the mess we have been cleaning up.

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