Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If I am in the Seanad, I cannot be here. A message was sent to Deputy Kelly's office and, as far as I understand, the Office of the Ceann Comhairle.

The origin of the new model lies in a detailed analysis of these issues by the Garda Síochána Inspectorate. I remind the House that the inspectorate is an independent body comprised of experienced and distinguished policing professionals. It is tasked with ensuring that the resources available to An Garda Síochána are used to achieve and maintain the highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness in the operation of its functions with reference to the best standards of comparable police services. The recommendation of the inspectorate on how An Garda Síochána is structured is in line with this remit and will ensure maximum policing impact on the ground in County Tipperary. The recommendations were strongly endorsed by the independent Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. The commission was made up of policing experts, experts from the private sector and academics - people with experience of policing.

I remind the House that the announcement of the new model by the Garda Commissioner was welcomed by the Policing Authority and other key stakeholders. I emphasise that this new model will bring positive impacts throughout the State and in Tipperary. First and foremost, it will mean more gardaí, including sergeants and inspectors, on the front line. It will reduce bureaucracy within the Garda organisation and empower divisions to take decisions at local level in counties Tipperary and Clare. It will create divisions of sufficient scale to ensure operational independence. Every division will have specialists in critical areas, including domestic and sexual crime, economic crime and so on. In short, the new model will bring significant improvements to An Garda Síochána structures, processes and services in Tipperary and Clare, maximising the organisation's operational impact at the local level in both counties to deliver an improved more consistent and highly visible policing service in communities across Tipperary and Clare. The new division in Tipperary and Clare, like all others, will have between 600 and 800 Garda members. It will have a Garda inspector available on a 24-7 basis and expertise in cybercrime and protective services, which deal with domestic and sexual violence, as well as a major focus on community engagement across counties Tipperary and Clare.

I have previously highlighted that in the current model several divisions cover two counties, including the division in my constituency. There is no evidence that the location of a divisional headquarters outside a county boundary diminishes policing services in any respect. I have been a Deputy representing Laois-Offaly for a long time. I have never once heard it put to me that because the headquarters is in Portlaoise policing in Tullamore has suffered.

It is important that we continue to acknowledge the reasoning and rationale behind this system. The idea is to improve services at local level. The new model will shift power and decision-making from Garda headquarters in Dublin to chief superintendents and superintendents nationwide, including in Tipperary and Clare. This will bring these senior members of the Garda service closer to the communities they serve in Tipperary and Clare, ensuring a more localised and responsive policing service that will reflect the local needs of the people in the division. It is not the case that under the new model, policing services will be centralised at divisional headquarters.

I welcome the Commissioner's confirmation that as many superintendents as possible will be in key locations throughout the division, including in Thurles in County Tipperary. This has been achieved in the divisions that piloted the model. The location of the divisional headquarters is simply an administrative matter and will not impact in an adverse or negative way on policing in the new division. The increased Garda numbers in Tipperary bear witness to the commitment to delivering the best possible police service in the county. Garda numbers in Tipperary have increased from a total of 354 at the end of 2015 to 384 this year. At the same time, the number of Garda civilian staff in the division has almost doubled from 32 at the end of 2015 to a total of 61 today. This is a considerable increase in civilian staff and means that additional gardaí can be redeployed from administrative to operational policing duties where their training and policing expertise can be used to best effect.

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