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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 9, 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, PRIPO, monitors progress on A Policing Service for our Future, and supports the work of the implementation group on policing reform, IGPR. The office also keeps the high-level steering board on policing reform and the Cabinet committee on social affairs and equality apprised of the progress being made. The programme office has been resourced with appropriate expertise in 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 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, namely, the building blocks phase; the launching phase; the scaling phase; and the consolidation phase. The first two phases have been completed and much has been achieved, for example, the 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, is under way; An Garda Síochána has established and strengthened resourcing of a human rights unit and re-established the strategic human rights advisory committee; pilots of local community safety partnerships, LCSPs, are being undertaken in three locations around the country, namely, in Dublin's north inner city, Waterford city and county and County Longford; the development by An Garda Síochána of an equality, diversity and inclusion strategy statement and action plan 2020-21; and the launch of a three-year Garda health and well-being strategy, which will see the introduction of additional health and well-being supports.

Progress on legislative reform has also been made. The Government has approved the drafting of the landmark policing, security and community safety Bill, which provides for the most wide-ranging and coherent reform of policing in a generation; the Garda Síochána (digital recordings) Bill, which concerns the use of recording devices, including body-worn cameras; and the Garda Síochána (powers) Bill, which brings together and modernises police powers of search, arrest and detention. These measures and achievements represent only some of the wide range of actions being progressed under the plan, and further detailed information on the implementation of the reform programme is available on. While progress since early 2020 has been impacted as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, 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 the implementation of A Policing Service for our Future, the scaling phase, commenced in October 2020. This is the critical phase of the programme of reform, during which the programme will gain momentum. The delivery of the majority of the actions will be started or executed during the scaling phase. The IGPR and PRIPO 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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