Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Wallace has obviously decided the outcome before the facts are heard. There are systemic issues which need to be addressed. It is very clear that this is not about one person.

I reject what the Deputy said about the direction taken by this Government. We took over a situation where there had been no investment in An Garda Síochána. Templemore had been closed, there was no recruitment, no independent recruitment and no independent body. Recommendations were being made by the Garda Inspectorate and these are now being implemented and monitored by the Policing Authority. I am sure the Deputy has seen the first report, which outlines what has been done in terms of reforms. There is clearly a huge amount of work to be done. I am absolutely committed to doing it.

The Government has shown its good faith in terms of the resources it has allocated to this. There is a huge amount of data relating to road traffic issues. The decision to give €200 million to improve the database is absolutely critical. Many of these issues arose because there was no national database being used by An Garda Síochána. There is clearly a huge amount of work to be done which is being supported by Government and the independent bodies.

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