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

If this debate has any value, it provides me with an opportunity to detail some of the real issues being addressed and what is behind us. Fianna Fáil's no-confidence motion is particularly galling considering that one of my biggest problems upon entering Government in March 2011 was trying to unravel the expenditure ceilings for the justice and defence sectors contained in the Fianna Fáil national recovery plan of November 2010. If implemented, they would have led to devastating cuts which I could not and would not have stood over. Fortunately, I was able to secure necessary additional funding for the justice area in excess of €400 million for the years 2012 to 2014 and also to mitigate the shortfall in funding for defence.

Deputy Collins should consider where the Garda force would be today with an average of €90 million per annum less in the Garda budget, which is where we would have been with Fianna Fáil's 2010 plan. He speaks about Garda numbers but fails to acknowledge that, with the dedication and co-operation of the force, we have preserved them at higher levels than Fianna Fáil intended in 2010. He speaks about Garda resources. By effecting efficiencies in the Department, and with the assistance of the Commissioner and my Government colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, we allocated approximately €4 million in 2012 and a further €5 million this year for the purchase of Garda vehicles, none of which was provided for in Fianna Fáil's 2010 plan. The truth is Fianna Fáil's no-confidence motion is both disingenuous and opportunistic.

In the two great Departments I lead, it has been a time of unprecedented dramatic change and reform. The achievements are not mine alone but of all in both the justice and the defence family who have travelled the route with me. The public owes a debt of gratitude to the officials in both Departments at all levels, many of whom work hours well beyond the call of duty. I also want to particularly acknowledge the contribution of the two Ministers of State, the Chief Whip and Minister of State at the Department of Defence, Deputy Paul Kehoe, and the Minister of State at the Departments of Justice and Equality and Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, each of whom makes an invaluable contribution. Also, of course, there is the very considerable commitment, expertise and dedication to public service in the Defence Forces, the Garda Síochána and the Prison Service. I also greatly value the crucial support of my Cabinet colleagues in the Fine Gael and Labour parliamentary parties.

For some, reform and change bring uncertainty and cause worry. However, through talk and discussions, we have together addressed problems and overcome very many of them. Together, we have implemented reform in the public interest through dialogue with the various representative bodies with the objective of resolving, in so far as is possible, the concerns of those who work in vital services. In the vital area of curtailing public expenditure, in the talks relating to Croke Park II, agreements were successfully concluded with the Defence Forces representative bodies and with the Prison Officers Association. Unfortunately at that time, it did not prove possible to engage in talks with the Garda representative bodies. This is now history and I am pleased that in the context of the Haddington Road agreement, there has been a successful conclusion to discussions with the staff representative bodies in the Irish Prison Service, the Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, and I look forward to a successful outcome to the ballot on what has been agreed.

Deputy Collins, in all of his recent comments and again tonight, has chosen to ignore the fact that these agreements have been concluded and that the Garda representative bodies have concluded them also. It is appropriate that I list, without detail, some of what has happened over the past two years. We have completed the reorganisation of the Permanent Defence Force, PDF, into a two brigade structure from a three brigade structure. The strength of the PDF has been preserved at 9,500. We have consolidated Army barracks. We have made crucial financial savings through increasing efficiencies. Despite the very severe financial difficulties facing the State, we have continued our commitment to, and engagement in, vital UN peacekeeping and training missions. We have completed a value for money review on the Reserve Defence Force, RDF, and reorganisation of the RDF is taking place. The defence budget has kept within its allocated spend for each year in which I have been Minister. We have abolished unnecessary quangos. By thoroughly engaging through dialogue with the Red Cross, reforms in this great organisation have been effected. The Dáil has enacted a Second World War amnesty Bill with regard to deserters who fought the Nazis.

We have re-energized Ireland's engagement in the Common Security and Defence Policy. During the EU presidency we have taken the opportunity to provide leadership on a broad range of issues of importance to this country, and to Europe as a whole, relating to security and defence.

As Minister for Justice and Equality, I have brought the following legislation to the Oireachtas and seen it enacted: Personal Insolvency Act 2012; National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable persons) Act 2012; Criminal Justice Search Warrants Act 2012; European Arrest Warrant (Application to Third Countries and Amendment) and Extradition (Amendment) Act 2012; Jurisdiction of Courts and Enforcement of Judgments (Amendment) Act 2012; Criminal Justice Withholding Information on Crimes Against Children and Vulnerable Adults Act 2012; Property Services Regulation Act 2011; Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011; 29th Amendment of the Constitution (Judges Remuneration) Act 2011, on which there was a successful referendum; Criminal Justice Act 2011; Criminal Law (Defence and the Dwelling) Act 2011; and the Criminal Justice Community Service Act 2011.

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