Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Bill is welcome. We need to acknowledge and streamline the difficulties at all levels of the Garda Síochána from Commissioner down and build on what is going well.

The level of confidence in GSOC presents an issue, with some investigations taking too long. With Deputy Paul Murphy, I raised this matter last week as it related to the ongoing investigation into the death of George Nkencho. It has taken two years, yet a report has still not been produced.

We need to acknowledge the issues with recruitment and retention on the front line. Events in west Dublin this week, which have been already referred to, highlighted the shortage of staff and resources in the Garda. Scenes like that not only give the impression that the Garda is not respected, but also decreases public confidence in the Garda and its ability to do the job. This is primarily down to shortages in staffing and resources, which must be addressed. I have spoken to many rank-and-file gardaí at local JPC meetings and raised the lack of gardaí on the ground, the availability of cars to attend incidents, and response times in general. Every time, it came down to a lack of personnel and resources. When I inquired into why recruitment and retention are problems, it came down to terms and conditions that made the job unattractive to potential recruits. I heard this week that there was to be an investigation into why newly recruited gardaí were leaving. Disappointingly, that investigation has not been initiated yet. It is a standard process in most companies - if someone leaves, he or she goes through a process to find out the reasons for doing so. Such a process must be instituted in the Garda immediately.

Yesterday, Ms Antoinette Cunningham, general secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI, stated that the Government had promised to recruit 800 gardaí last year but had only achieved 120. It had set a target of 1,000. The first cohort of 200 were due to start in Templemore yesterday, but only 136 did. There is no doubt there is a recruitment issue. Coupled with a retention issue, it has the potential to create major problems for our communities and their safety.

Unfortunately, a political failure is putting our communities and hard-working and dedicated gardaí at risk. This is coupled with a lack of stations in areas with growing populations. As the Acting Chair knows, Fingal County Council is putting together its county development plan. We are looking at thousands of new homes, all of which are welcome, and thousands of new jobs. Ballycoolin will go from having 20,000 people working there to 50,000. Following new developments in the Blanchardstown centre, it will have up to 3,300 units. Where is the strategic planning of services like the Garda, though? Where will the gardaí be located and how many are planned for each area? These questions need to be addressed.

Another issue needs to be addressed. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is introducing active travel. I have been raising the issue of scramblers since entering the Dáil. The Department will not provide active travel funding to local authorities if there are kissing gates or security gates along the routes in question. Such gates would have to be removed. The problem is that we still have not addressed the issue of scramblers. There are two parts to it, the first of which is legislation. The second is resourcing and authorising the Garda to set up a specialised scrambler unit. Police in the UK, where there is an equally serious problem, have specialised scrambler units. In west Dublin, we saw 20 to 50 scramblers running amok on a main road. I even saw a video of them doing wheelies on a motorway and driving on the wrong side of the road. The Garda tells us there is nothing it can do to intervene in such circumstances. If so, it is wrong and sends out the wrong message.

I wish to address another matter quickly. Last week, I asked the Minister for Justice about stolen cars. I had not seen stolen cars in Dublin West for the guts of 15 years. In the past three months, though, we have had at least six to eight stolen cars in my area alone. Three of them were burned out. They are Japanese imports that have no security measures - steering locks, alarms or immobilisers - whatsoever.

Something we need to look at in the context of legislation is the fact that any cars being imported into the country must reach a certain minimum standard of security. There are people who are reaping the benefits of cars not having these security measures in place.

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