Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. We submitted a parliamentary question on this matter earlier this year. The response indicated that the proposals would be brought forward shortly. The Minister has now indicated that it will be a 12-year sentence. Does he have any idea when that proposal will be coming before this House or when the amendment to the Act will be coming forward? We are all aware of the attacks that took place over the past year. The urgency around this, following on from a couple of meetings I have had, is due to the crisis in morale in An Garda Síochána. Some senior gardaí have told me that this is in addition to the other difficulties they are having with the number of resignations that have taken place. In 2016, there were 24 resignations from An Garda Síochána whereas, depending on the report you look at, there were 109 in 2022. There are a number of issues with regard to pay. Looking at the number of resignations, there is obviously a difficulty with retaining the staff that are there.

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