Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

For many years, Sinn Féin has been calling for the introduction of body cameras for gardaí to assist them in keeping communities safe. The Bill has been long delayed and the Government should have got its act together many years ago. As noted by previous speakers, other European countries have been using body cameras for more than a decade. Fine Gael has been in government for almost 11 years but it is only now introducing this legislation. What priority has it placed on protecting front-line gardaí and keeping communities safe? It is important that there be proper regulation in place for the protection of the public, as well as of gardaí while using these cameras on duty. Restrictions on when and where these devices are used and the protection of data captured on them must be in place alongside the legislation. Sinn Féin will closely examine the legislation and table amendments where necessary to ensure gardaí and communities get the protection they need.

Too many communities simply do not feel safe. Year after year, Fine Gael in government has left An Garda understaffed and under-resourced. The Dublin region experienced the largest loss of gardaí since 2009. It lost a total of 757 gardaí in that time. My area, which covers Clondalkin, Lucan, Palmerstown, Rathcoole, Newcastle, Saggart and Brittas, experienced a big decrease in Garda numbers during that time - a total of more than 6% of all gardaí. Fine Gael, the so-called party of law and order, has decimated policing in my area. Communities in certain parts of my area feel abandoned and unsafe. The biggest decrease in my area is in the number of community gardaí. In 2020, we had 86 community gardaí across all the areas I mentioned. That number has dropped to 64 in the past two years. Areas such as Saggart, Rathcoole and Newcastle have experienced the fastest growth in the State. Those communities want gardaí physically present, particularly in the evenings. The presence of gardaí who walk the beat and speak to residents builds strong relationships and offers communities a sense of security.

I welcome that the Bill is being debated today but it should not have taken the harrowing scenes in Ballyfermot to force the Government to act. I will put that despicable incident into context. The two young gardaí who were attacked were not from Ballyfermot Garda station; they were from my local Garda station, in Ronanstown. They were only in Ballyfermot on that night to provide overtime cover due to the lack of gardaí in Ballyfermot. That is just not good enough. Gardaí have been left vulnerable and put at risk. While I welcome the introduction of body cameras, I would much rather there be additional bodies to wear those cameras rather than just having the cameras themselves.

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