Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I agree with the previous speaker that in terms of our exploring all avenues and possibilities in the creation of a new independent authority, time is critical. This should include examination not only of best practice in Northern Ireland, which I know the Minister will be looking at, but internationally. We must also be conscious of what can happen when an independent authority is established too quickly. The Health Service Executive was set up far too quickly. It was ill-thought out and unplanned. In my view, many of the failures of the HSE resulted from a lack of clarity, preparation and clear thinking in terms of how it should operate. It is important that we learn from our mistakes.

I believe that the current Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, in terms of her track record in setting up a new Department, is the right person with the right credentials to establish the new authority. Her experience in that regard will be critical in the development of the new authority. I have some reservations about the new authority in terms of where the line of responsibility lies with respect to the Garda Síochána and the Minister. Obviously, this will be teased out as the Bill progresses. I agree that there are whistleblowers who have legitimate concerns. A more recent issue that has been raised is whether there is a need for whistleblowers for these whistleblowers. All of these issues need to be ironed out. In the consideration of these issues by the various committees, time is critical.

I have learned from conversations I have had with gardaí that the biggest crisis within the Garda Síochána is its inability to respond. As with all other sectors, the Garda Síochána was hit by cuts, including in respect of the replacement of its aging fleet, leaving many gardaí patrolling areas in Fiesta vans. There is a great deal of country terrain in my constituency. The Coast Guard fleet, in terms of its ability to access rough terrain, is a fabulous asset to our communities. The Garda Síochána also operates in tough terrain. Consideration should be given to investment in a new fleet that can adapt to different terrains throughout the country.

In terms of resources, there is no sergeant in Raphoe Garda station. There are many gaps within the force. In my view the real crisis is the difficulty of response by Garda Síochána owing to a lack of personnel. While the embargo in respect of recruitment has been lifted, it will be some time before new gardaí are appointed. We must look at what can be done now. For example, consideration could be given by the Minister to deploying young single gardaí, male or female, in administrative functions in the larger Garda stations from Dublin to Donegal. Perhaps if they come to Donegal they will find a reason to stay. We should look at incentivising gardaí to move to more rural areas.

It would be remiss of me not to refer to Border areas such as Muff, Killea and Carrigans, which are small, sleepy towns located close to the urban sprawl of Derry city, which has a population of 120,000. Despite all of the sophistication of modern communications systems and IT and the very positive involvement with the PSNI, the greatest asset to a garda in a rural or urban area is knowing his or her community. This is difficult to do with limited resources and minimum gardaí on the periphery of a city such as Derry. The message must go out to small communities such as Muff, Killea, Carrigans, St. Johnston and Quigley's Point that consideration will be given to allocating even one additional garda to the stations in those areas.

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