Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Tógfaidh mé Ceisteanna Uimh. 14 go 16, go huile, le chéile.

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. Implementation of the plan is being overseen by a dedicated programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach and has entered the final consolidation phase, with many substantive reforms already attained. This phase is expected to conclude in the fourth quarter of this year, after which the enhanced governance and accountability framework will be introduced following enactment of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill in 2024.

Major reforms to date include progressing the 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. They also include pilots of local community safety partnerships in three locations. These are Dublin’s north inner city, Waterford city and county and Longford county. Another reform is the recruitment of nearly 1,800 Garda staff. This has allowed us to reassign many gardaí to front-line policing duties. There is also the distribution of almost 11,000 digital communication devices to enable front-line gardaí to perform their duties without having to return to stations. The reforms also include implementing the equality, diversity and inclusion, EDI, strategy statement and introducing additional health and well-being assistance for the workforce as part of a three-year Garda health and well-being strategy.

There has also been progress on legislative reform. 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.

It has also approved the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill, which concerns the use of recording devices, including body-worn cameras, and the Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill, which combines and modernises police powers of search, arrest and detention. In addition, the Garda Síochána (Functions and Operational Areas) Act came into law in 2021 to underpin the new Garda operating model.

These achievements represent only some of the wide-ranging actions completed or being progressed, and the plan is continually assessed to ensure a smooth transition to these new governance and oversight arrangements.

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