Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate Deputy Griffin on having his Bill debated in the House. For a long period, many of us have been looking for reform of the Dáil so that more backbenchers would have their Bills discussed on the floor of the Dáil. Many of us have published Bills during the past five years, most of which have not been debated in the House. I was lucky to have a Bill I proposed incorporated into legislation by the former Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar. It is important to signal that backbenchers and other Members have a role to play in proposing legislation. Deputy Griffin has put much time, effort and research into the Bill to get it as far as the Dáil. The Bill was chosen by a lottery system and everyone knows the chances of winning the lottery are quite small. It is like that today. The Deputy has won the lottery - it may only be the Dáil lottery but some of us who are in that lottery system fail to have our balls drawn out, excuse the expression.

I will make a number of comments on the Bill. There should be a minimum sentence for ramming Garda vehicles. We all talk about an upper limit of, for example, ten years but a mandatory minimum sentence for ramming a Garda vehicle might deter criminals. When one examines the situation, most of those involved in criminal activity are repeat offenders and they are not deterred from ramming Garda cars. They have no understanding of the importance of human life. Many of them are on a high, whether from drugs or alcohol, have long criminal records and have no concern for the lives of others on the road, whether it is the life of an ordinary citizen or a garda.

The Garda car is now the Garda office. In most rural areas, where Garda stations have been closed down, the Garda car is a garda's office. We are in the process of recruiting an additional 600 gardaí, which I welcome. The last Fianna Fáil administration closed down Templemore and this administration has opened it back up again. An additional 600 gardaí will be recruited for 2016 and the Garda vehicle will be their office so we need to provide that office with more protection. Those of us who work in an office would not like someone to come to our office and cause us bodily harm. There is protection for that. The reality of the situation is that most gardaí regard their Garda patrol car, whether marked or unmarked, as their office. Perhaps the Minister of State will consider a minimum sentence for ramming a Garda vehicle.

I welcome the addition of 600 gardaí but I ask the Minister of State to correspond with the Commissioner on this issue. Kildare is one of the most deprived areas in the country in terms of Garda numbers. I am being very parochial. As I have said, most gardaí work from patrol cars.

I welcome Deputy Griffin's Bill. We must protect gardaí who are doing their duty and protecting us against the criminal element, whether first-time or repeat offenders. We need to put in place strong legislation with a strong commitment to make sure there is a huge deterrent to ramming a Garda vehicle. As Deputy Farrell said, we should also consider including the vehicles of the fire and ambulance services in this legislation.

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