Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have a few points in relation to what the Minister said. I acknowledge the large amount in the budget and that the training allowance will be increased, which we called for. I also acknowledge that many civilian staff have been hired but the Department previously stated that, for every one civilian staff member hired, one garda could be deployed back to front-line duties. That has not happened. I know there has been some movement in relation to immigration but there is much more that can be done and there are many more recommendations in the Commission for the Future of Policing in Ireland report.

Sinn Féin made a submission before the report was published which stated that, to the greatest extent possible, all duties which do not require a garda with full police training should be allocated to an appropriately trained civilian. That was reflected in the report, which contains a chapter on non-core duties. Some of the other things, apart from immigration, which were mentioned were security at courts, transporting remand prisoners, serving summonses, prosecutions, presenting in District Courts, attending minor road traffic accidents, attending the coroner's court and safeguarding examination papers. They are a lot of the changes that could get more gardaí back onto the streets and make people in communities feel safer.

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