Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It feels like we are in the midst of a full blown crisis in our criminal justice system and I do not use that term lightly. As I said yesterday when the Minister was in the Chamber as I made my remarks to the Taoiseach, the criminal courts of justice effectively came to a halt because of industrial action by barristers. They have not been listened to. They started a discussion around their dispute on 12 July and nothing has happened from the Minister's Department or the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, between July, August and September - we are now into October - to make sure that would not go ahead. The action went ahead yesterday and more is planned. They are not being listened to. Two thirds of barristers leave the job after six years. A sexual assault cause almost collapsed in May because of the lack of a senior counsel. That is effectively a crisis.

The number of prisoners in Mountjoy sleeping on floors has quadrupled. The governor has said we have too many prisoners on four month sentences, which is clogging up the system and is not working. He is not being listened to. We now have a situation where every Tuesday this month, including Hallowe'en, gardaí will refuse to take up overtime. That means the system will effectively collapse this month.

I do not need to tell the Minister that were she to go to any community policing meeting in my constituency and tell people Garda numbers will be curtailed on Hallowe'en, it would frighten the hell out of them. We know there is a massive morale issue in An Garda Síochána. Before I even come to the dispute, there is a retention and recruitment issue. Too many gardaí are telling me they would not join the force now. The Minister spoke in glowing terms about community gardaí, and all of the rest of it, in regard to how the numbers are being protected, but there is no sense that those numbers are being increased. As other Deputies have said, we hear from places like Baldoyle in my constituency that community gardaí are being withdrawn.

From my teaching experience, community work and role as a politician, I know that the most important role of An Garda Síochána is that of the community garda. Community gardaí solved, stopped, halted and prevented more crime than any other unit of An Garda Síochána by engaging with young people, talking to schools, being a presence on the ground, a friendly face, a name that people knew and trusted and in terms of getting behind the uniform.

I have the utmost respect for An Garda Síochána. I have members of the force in my family. People have lost their lives and have put their lives on the line for the safety of the State and individuals, which has to be recognised. I am fundamentally a pro-Garda person, but in certain parts of the country, in particular Dublin, there has traditionally been a relationship problem and tension between members of An Garda Síochána and certain working-class communities. To deny that would not be truthful. That has been painstakingly worked on over generations to try to work beyond the uniform and tension and begin to know people as individuals.

When the availability of gardaí to come to a meeting, visit a school or be seen at a community event is stripped away, that is more damaging than anything else. When I hear from my constituency that community gardaí are no longer available in areas where I work, are being withdrawn or there are fewer of them, I know that in ten years' time we will feel the results of that.

Last night, I was at a meeting I organised in Raheny and what I heard did not, unfortunately, shock me. One family has been consistently targeted by young people on bikes pelting their house, and this has been going on for four years. They have an infant child. Young people are racially abusing people who work in a local shop and are causing all sorts of hassle. A local Church of Ireland church finds it impossible to do what it normally does in terms of community work because of the nature of the intimidation and antisocial behaviour that is happening. I do not want to be unfair, but when I interact with local gardaí I get the feeling from them that they are doing an impossible job. My worry is what these young people will be like in ten years' time.

We now have a situation whereby gardaí are engaged in an industrial dispute. The Minister knows that touches at the very sense of security that everybody in this country has. If there is an industrial dispute of that nature, it means that everybody feels a little bit more insecure. I do not agree with calls in the House for the Commissioner to resign. That is not a fruitful or positive contribution to this debate. Over the past ten years, two Garda Commissioners have left under a cloud. There have been changes at the top of the Department of Justice. Ministers have had to resign for various reasons. We have had a lot of insecurity and upheaval in the justice system for the past ten years. We do not need more calls for heads to go.

I did not agree with the wording of the motion put down by the GRA to its members but having spoken to individual gardaí, they told me they voted no confidence in the Garda Commissioner because that was the only avenue they had to express their displeasure at the rostering situation. We can, therefore, divorce the two things. I do not think calls like that are helpful.

However, as I have said to the Minister before, the Policing Authority has a role here. It was only established ten years ago and has a role in overseeing the Garda plan for the year and its implementation. It should certainly have a view as to how this dispute could be resolved. We cannot have a situation of rolling days of action by barristers closing down the criminal justice system or gardaí not being available for overtime every Tuesday this month. We cannot allow that to intensify.

We cannot have a situation whereby many gardaí want to leave the force or communities feel unsafe. This is happening on the Minister's watch. We have to work on solutions. As others have said, the Minister has done a solid amount of work in various different aspects of her brief, which is commendable, in particular the establishment of the sexual assault and gender-based violence agency, which we discussed last week.

However, this is a full-blown crisis. What is happening on the ground in areas I represent is hurting people's sense of security. We need to work on issues such as the new Garda station for Dublin 17 at Northern Cross. That is something I know the Government has committed to. This station will be a major new Garda divisional headquarters. However, denying that this is a crisis will not help anybody in this House or in the communities we serve to feel more secure.

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