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

I take the Deputy's point. I am not answerable on specific operational decisions as to where a headquarters is located. I take the Deputy's point about Tipperary, as opposed to the west of the mid-west, as the Deputy has described it, and the organisation of divisions, headquarters and so forth on the ground. I will follow up on that. A unit in my Department oversees policing reform and I will undertake to have a briefing and bring to the attention of those who are overseeing the reform the concerns quite a number of people have about these matters.

Deputy Ó Murchú raised issues relating to domestic violence and the UN convention. I will come back to him with a timeline for Ireland's ratification of that. Issues of murder within families and so on are complex. A lot of work is being done from the justice and health perspectives in terms of the comments and experiences of others who have been through terrible trauma as a result of the loss of life of family members through the actions of another family member. There have been a number of such cases in recent times. We are open to an informed engagement and dialogue on the issue. It involves input from many professionals.

In terms of domestic paid leave and so on, we are supportive of measures of that kind. The Minister for Social Protection recently brought in some measures that were tried during the Covid period in respect of social protection which we will continue now as part of policy into the future. We will follow through on those issues. A joint departmental approach is being taken by the Departments of Justice; Housing, Local Government and Heritage; and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in respect of domestic and gender-based violence more generally with a view not just to additional resources but the provision of proper coverage across the country in terms of refuges and supports. It is a bit uneven at the moment. Eight counties have no provision right now and there is a need to support victims of domestic and gender-based violence in areas where the supports are not adequate or sufficient.

I will turn to the Garda Commissioner's comments. I have great belief in the joint policing committees. I think they have been very instructive and I know the Garda Commissioner has articulated some concerns with the legislation. We will take input but the Government must legislate, ultimately. Our objective is to create a modern, reformed police force. That means change from the way things were done in the past. We want to do that in a way that is operationally sensible to ensure it works. We will take on board submissions that are being made by the Commissioner and others in respect of the legislation. Authority is important in terms of the management of any force but, as I outlined earlier in my reply, the Commissioner has overseen significant reforms in respect of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC. The Government will always be advised by the Attorney General on matters relating to the constitutionality of any matter we introduce through legislation. It has always been that way and it will continue that way. There is always a balance between oversight and operations.

Overall, we must never lose sight of the fact that we want to maintain resources on the front line. Sometimes we can create enormous bureaucratic overhang above any force. Resources must, first and foremost, be targeted to front line resources and to gardaí on the ground to allow them to police effectively and to make communities safe. I would be concerned that a lot of the anecdotal evidence is that many people do not feel safe in some of our cities and towns right now. That is something we need to address because people need a sense of security and safety as they walk our streets.

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