Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for that supplementary response. I take on board the points. It is hard to stand up here and highlight negative facts about his constituency but he does that to highlight his concern. I appreciate that. I accept it and believe it is done in good faith. I also counter that by saying that surely the people who are making the key decisions about the new districts are the ones who understand those challenges better. These are the gardaí who deal with these areas. This decision is not being made in isolation. I would be more concerned if the decision was being made by politicians in this House who are not on the front line dealing with all of the challenges the Deputy has outlined. These challenges are not specific to his region. We have different policing challenges in different parts of the country. My county of Kildare, which is a commuter belt not dissimilar to Louth, has a lot of challenges with a growing population and all the challenges that come with that. Different areas have those different elements. This structure is about trusting the Commissioner and the senior management team in An Garda Síochána to make those correct decisions, deploy the resources in the best possible way using the new operating model, which I know the Commission feels very strongly is much more appropriate to the level of policing that is needed in Ireland in this modern era, and face those challenges down.

The Deputy mentioned the rosters. We want to see a resolution to that matter. He talks about his concerns about losing different officers from certain positions. Ultimately, the engagement between the Garda representative bodies is absolutely critical here. We all agree that the old pre-Covid roster is not the best option here, but similarly the present Covid-19 roster is not sustainable either. What we want to get is a balance in the best interests of the welfare of the members of An Garda Síochána who do such an important job around the country but which also allows us to provide the type of policing that the general public in this country expect and deserve. There is a balance to be struck there that can be agreed through proper negotiations and detailed engagement. I hope all parties get back around the table as soon as possible in that regard.

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