Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand exactly the issues that the Deputy is raising. When I go into Garda stations in my constituency, in the communities that I am lucky and privileged to represent, including Store Street, Bridewell, Mountjoy, and Cabra Garda stations, I see the immense work they do. They are public servants who are out first thing in the morning and last thing at night, frequently putting themselves on the front line and at risk to keep the rest of us safe. In addition to all of that, they do positive work to look after communities, which I see day after day in Dublin Central. On one hand, they tackle vicious criminals, and on the other hand, they go into schools to promote the standards that matter so much to us. We are doing that. It is because we want to support our gardaí and public servants that the Minister, Deputy McGrath, came to Government while we were grappling with a pandemic and, with the support of Government, said we would put in place a further public wage agreement at a time of great uncertainty in our public finances. That wage agreement was put in place because of the work that our nurses and gardaí do.

I know that when these agreements are put in place, there are always legitimate cases for more wages, changes in pensions and overtime. We appreciate that, but we need resources to provide overtime and for recruitment, while also responding to the needs of pay and pensions Deputy Fitzpatrick referred to. Our message is unambiguous: we will do all we can to support gardaí in the exceptional work they do because of the incidents Deputy Fitzpatrick referred to and the value we all place on the work of An Garda Síochána.

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