Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Deputy raising the issue. Yesterday's drugs seizure and the operation over the last number of days reveals more than anything that there is no soft-touch approach in respect of crime in this country and particularly in respect of drug trafficking cartels. What we witnessed were very high standards and very high professionalism being demonstrated by An Garda Síochána, the Air Corp, the Naval Service and the Army Rangers, working co-operatively and collaboratively in a joint task force. It was the largest haul ever in the history of the State. It was the first time ever that we deployed the Army Rangers in such an action, as we did this week. Our intelligence services worked with European Union member states and agencies across the world to combine intelligence, and very effective and professional actions resulted in the seizure of very significant drugs. That represents the commitment of the State.

I applaud the bravery of An Garda Síochána in the conduct of its daily tasks. I applaud the bravery of the Air Corps pilots' precision piloting and, indeed, that of the Army Rangers and our Naval Service. It illustrates that they are very often in harm's way in upholding law and order and taking on and dealing with crime barons.

The Deputy would have to acknowledge the very significant inroads made in the north of the city in the last number of years in respect of some of the larger criminal gangs, with very significant numbers of criminals being put behind bars and the break-up of those gangs, many of whose members had to leave the country. That is not evidence of a soft touch by Government in respect of these criminal gangs or in terms of crime. We will always remain tough on criminals as they ply their trade, but we will also work very strongly in communities in terms of supporting them through proper community-based policing and in supporting community organisations on a broader range of issues that arise.

Approximately €2 billion has been allocated to An Garda Síochána this year. That is unprecedented. It will allow for ongoing recruitment of new gardaí and Garda staff. At the end of July 2023, there were 13,943 Garda members across the country. That is an increase over previous years, although there was a problem during Covid, as we know, in terms of Templemore, training and so on. That is now recovering in terms of the number of trainees. Numbers in Templemore continue to increase now with attestations every three months. Some 135 trainees entered the training college in February and another 154 entered in May. Another class of 174 trainees, the largest since Covid, entered the college at the end of July, continuing to build momentum and recruitment. There are approximately 470 trainees now in active training. Two more classes are due into Templemore in October. We are, therefore, on track to having between 700 and 800 new recruits into the college in 2023.

The issue around the Garda roster that was introduced by the Commissioner is clearly an issue that has caused considerable unrest and concern within the ranks of An Garda Síochána. The Deputy mentioned the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. It recommended changes to rosters and so on but in my view, these issues are best resolved with the industrial relations mechanisms. That is where they should be resolved because it is understood that there are legitimate and genuine concerns. I would respectfully suggest that the way to resolve it is through the industrial relations machinery.

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