Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have just one question. How come this took so long? This issue was being flagged much earlier in the year. The Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland said the Garda Reserve is a cost-effective way to provide surge capacity for policing special events and can provide policing experience for those who may be interested in joining the force but may be undecided or wary about it. In new communities, particularly those from eastern Europe, maybe, there is a suspicion and a fear - they do not have the same relationship with the police force that maybe we have in Ireland - but this can also be a breaking ground to allow those people in. Because of the resignations we see in the organisation, we must be careful that reservists do not replace fully trained gardaí - the Garda is a professional force, and gardaí are very well trained - and that they can work together in a sort of symbiosis. I urge the Minister to get this in as soon as possible.

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