Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 to 13, inclusive, together.

A Policing Service for our Future is the Government's plan to implement the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. As recommended in the commission's report, implementation of the plan is being overseen by a dedicated programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach. The policing reform implementation programme office monitors progress on the strategy, supports the work of the implementation group on policing reform and keeps the high-level steering board on policing reform and the Government apprised of the progress being made. The programme office has been resourced with appropriate expertise in the areas of project management, policing, justice and public service reform.

A Policing Service for our Future is a living document which is reviewed and updated by the policing reform implementation programme office, as required, to maintain ambitious but realistic commitments, timeframes and milestones. A Policing Service for our Future is broken down into four stages of implementation: the building blocks phase, which is of six months duration; the launching phase, which is of six months duration; the scaling phase, which is of 18 months duration; and the consolidation phase, which is of 12 to 18 months duration as currently envisaged. The first two phases of A Policing Service for our Future - the building blocks and launching phases - have been completed and much has already been achieved. For example, there has been roll-out of a new operating model for An Garda Síochána, designed to streamline Garda administration and to provide a more visible, responsive and localised policing service to communities nationwide. An Garda Síochána has established and strengthened resourcing of a human rights unit and re-established the strategic human rights advisory committee. The National Security Analysis Centre has been established. We have seen the roll-out of over 3,250 mobile data stations, which have been deployed as part of An Garda Síochána's mobility project.

It also includes the development by An Garda Síochána of an equality, diversity and inclusion strategy statement and action plan 2020-2021 and, recently, An Garda Síochána launched its three-year Garda health and well-being strategy, which will see the introduction of additional health and well-being supports.

There has also been progress on legislative reform. The Government has recently published the general scheme of the landmark policing, security and community safety Bill which provides for the most wide-ranging and coherent reform of policing in a generation and the general scheme of the Garda Síochána (digital recordings) Bill, which concerns the use of recording devices, including body-worn cameras. Progress continues to be made also in relation to the codification of legislation defining police powers of arrest, search and detention.

These measures and achievements represent only some of the wide range of actions being progressed under the strategy and further detailed information on the implementation of the reform programme is available on gov.ie.

Progress since early 2020 has been impacted as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The third phase of the implementation of A Policing Service for our Future, the scaling phase, was originally scheduled to commence in early 2020. However, as the scaling phase was being finalised, Covid-19 and the response required became a factor to be considered. I have been encouraged to see the responsiveness and flexibility shown by An Garda Síochána in dealing with the demands of this unprecedented situation. The third phase of A Policing Service for our Future, the scaling phase, commenced in October 2020 and is published on gov.ie. This is the critical phase of the programme of reform, during which the programme gains momentum. The delivery of the majority of the actions will be started or executed during the scaling phase. The Implementation Group on Policing Reform and Policing Reform Implementation Programme Office have been, and continue to be, actively engaged with key stakeholders to ensure continued momentum on reform, insofar as possible, in the current circumstances.

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