Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill, the purpose of which is to rectify constitutional issues in legislation identified by the Supreme Court following a case in 2019. There are a number of Acts which this Bill will affect. The Minister of State has mentioned them, as have my colleagues.

It is welcome that this issue is being dealt with but we need to go further. We need to think of the human rights of victims of crime and we need to do more on crime prevention. Garda visibility is a key part of crime prevention and detection. We need to invest in our justice system. Sinn Féin in government will recruit 800 Garda members per annum to gradually increase the strength of the force above 16,000. We have one of the lowest policing ratios in Europe and this must change. We will review the need for new Garda stations in areas that are under siege. We must also ensure that the Garda stations we have are fit for purpose and that gardaí are available when needed. The Minister of State will have heard Teachta Martin Kenny talking about sGarda car. The same thing has happened in my area as well, on many occasions. Sinn Féin in government will speed up civilianisation by recruiting 550 Garda staff per annum. This will free gardaí from office work which they really should not be doing and where it is not essential for it to be carried out by sworn members. Gardaí should really be out on patrol on the streets instead of in offices doing this work.

We also have the farcical situation whereby up to 50% of all front-line gardaí do not have the adequate training and clearance to pursue cars at high speed, according to the Garda Representative Association. This is a significant problem given that many stations cover vast rural areas and if gardaí cannot pursue criminals at speed, it seriously hampers their ability to tackle crime. We need to form rural crime task forces in all rural Garda divisions. Sinn Féin in government will implement the Commission on the Future of Policing recommendations on technology and provide gardaí with the tools to tackle crime in rural and remote areas. Years of neglect and indifference to rural Ireland must stop, and stop now.

We need to reform joint policing committees to give them more powers and give local communities more influence on policing. We also need more community wardens for county councils to assist with planning safer communities. Sinn Féin in government will bring community gardaí back up to 2010 levels and put in place restorative justice schemes complementary to, and not as a substitute for, civic policing.

Finally, I want to address the epidemic of illegal dumping that is plaguing rural Ireland. We must resolve issues around CCTV use and work together to ensure communities can be protected from this blight on our landscape.

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