Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to attend and contribute to the debate on this Bill, which intends to facilitate the implementation of the new Garda Síochána operating model. It proposes certain amendments to legislation to facilitate the introduction of specific changes to the structure of An Garda Síochána. As the Minister knows, the new model is structured around Garda divisions. Under the divisional policing model being introduced, all services, it appears, will be managed and co-ordinated at divisional level. This will hopefully allow greater specialisation and release gardaí from back office functions, which many colleagues have already spoken about. Garda districts will no longer form part of the organisational structure and the division is now to be the primary operational unit, acting as a fundamental building block for delivering day-to-day policing, with enough capabilities and autonomy to effectively run local operations but within a corporate framework to ensure consistency and quality of service. I wonder about that last line. I am not so sure I like the sound of a corporate framework in terms of additional public bodies and public scrutiny. Each division will be headed by a chief superintendent, as is currently the case, and superintendents will now have divisional responsibilities and will no longer be heads of local districts.

The new division in the south east, located in Waterford, now encompasses Waterford, Kilkenny and Carlow. This division does not have the present built capacity to fully accommodate the new personnel coming into the station. However, there is ample room on the present site to accommodate expansion and the extension of the existing building. This must be a priority within the new policing plan. In addition, this building expansion must be accepted by the Government and reflected in the revised development plan. There is absolutely no sense in nominating Waterford as the new divisional headquarters if we cannot have the facilities and headcount required in order to carry out the role of a divisional headquarters.

Waterford is the capital of the south east, reflecting a census population of almost 60,000 people. This number does not take into account the student population within the city, which numbers close to 12,000, or the more than 12,000 people who commute in and out of the city each day for employment. Waterford needs increased policing capability in terms of additional policing numbers. At present, our headcount is probably 16 officers lower than it was two years ago. It is hard to understand how that is the case, given that the division is supposed to be increasing.

The site houses the division of the armed response unit in Waterford and is also the control room and support base for all 999 calls for the ten counties of the eastern region. I took the opportunity some weeks ago to visit the barracks in Waterford and I have seen first-hand the lack of space. Duty members do not even have lockers in which to store their clothes or personal items as they don their uniforms. I have seen the control room where controllers sit cheek by jowl in a room with a lack of space and ventilation. It is hard to believe, given how this facility is currently structured, that it can provide adequately for such an important function within the new divisional headquarters. We may be proposing a new policing model but without resourcing nothing will change. This is true too of the Garda stations in Tramore and Dungarvan, where new sergeant positions are yet to be activated, and the divisional headquarters in Waterford is short at least 16 full-time officers.

I have spoken to gardaí on the beat about present policing policy. One garda told me that there are huge issues with staffing and lack of manpower. Another said that there has been no recruitment drive in over three years and there is not even a sign of one on the horizon. Another claimed that there are no opportunities for rank-and-file gardaí to benefit from promotion in the present stagnant situation. Another said that promotions that have been approved are taking between two and four years to implement. How can this be, when Garda officers are retiring at the same time? Another garda told me that lots of gardaí have been taken off the beat because they have to attend local District Court sitting where sergeant positions as court presenters that were promised have yet to be activated. This is a significant problem throughout the courts in the country, as I am sure the Minister is well aware. Rank-and-file gardaí are turning up every week at the District Court to give a few minutes of evidence and may have their whole day taken up when cases are deferred or delayed.

What is the future of community policing if An Garda Síochána cannot engage with and remain close to the public at large? That has been covered by a number of Deputies this evening. In the past, the basis of a community garda was always someone living in the region who knew the people he or she was dealing with, who knew what levels of crime were going on and who largely knew exactly who was involved in criminality and antisocial behaviour. There was a lot of comfort in that. That is something we have gone away from and we need to rediscover it.

What is the future development of roads policing? This is something that I as a Deputy struggle with all the time. I see speed cameras placed in areas such as the Dunmore Road in Waterford. There is habitually a speed camera placed there, in an area of 30 km/h where we have not had an injury or a fatality in over 20 years. It is purely a money-raising and points-getting exercise that has nothing to do with road safety. When gardaí and police operate that type of policy all they do is P- off people in all areas because people see this as an attack on ordinary, decent, law-abiding citizens. What discretion is allowed to gardaí anymore? My understanding is they have very little now. When a garda stops someone he or she has no discretion, whereas in the past that discretion engendered a good community spirit. That is gone and that needs to be looked at as well.

The main issues raised by my constituents are community policing and having gardaí on the beat, visible and available in short response times and not tied up in the District Court providing court narratives for low-level crimes that will largely be dealt with by low-level fines and suspended custodial sentences. That is the truth of it at present. We need serious crime responses and active and responsive detective units with liaison officers so that prosecution and potential court actions can be updated and communicated to the victims of crime in a timely manner. As crime adapts and changes, policing needs to change also. I was glad to hear news today of a specific operation targeting the scourge that is bogus tradespeople preying on vulnerable elderly people and bullying them into engaging work that is not required on their houses. They are then extorted and victimised for it.

This is not a low-level crime. This is an issue for which those in policing reform should be calling for longer sentencing.

The Minister is probably aware that rural crime is conducted with the use of drone technology to survey rural houses, farms, outbuildings, livestock and machinery areas. This is a significant problem for rural dwellers, and technology officers in An Garda Síochána need to be innovative to combat this. What is the strategy around that? I am not sure there is one. I would like to hear it communicated.

On technology and cybercrime, what is the plan to resource these departments considering the innovation, the scale and the level of cybercrime which is growing exponentially? We have major issues with cybercrime from abroad which is impacting us. What legislation is there to cover that?

I pay tribute to the Garda fraud office. We had a situation in Waterford some months ago where a significant amount of money was paid by a Waterford company. Thanks to the diligence and activity of the Garda fraud office, that money was recovered. That is probably the exception rather than the rule. This is a matter we need to look at.

Other Members have discussed our drugs strategy. It is hard to know where we are going with the drugs situation in this country. I accept there are many societal and cultural issues that drive the drugs trade, but education is key to this issue and so is community policy. This is an issue that has to be looked at and resourced seriously. Without adequate resourcing in terms of human capital, this strategy is unlikely to flourish and consequentially the public at large is unlikely to notice any improvement in policing activity.

In the Waterford division, the lack of human and built capital means, to a large extent, the aspiration of this Bill cannot be implemented on the ground. I am sure that is not the intention of the Minister. I look forward to engaging with her and local policing on how we can best meet the needs of An Garda Síochána, regionally and nationally, and local community and commercial concerns with regard to this administrative change.

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