Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 16, inclusive, together. A Policing Service for our Future is the Government’s plan to implement the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. Implementation of the plan is being overseen by a dedicated programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach and has entered the final consolidation phase, with many substantive reforms already attained. This phase is expected to conclude with the introduction of the enhanced governance and accountability framework set out in the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023 in the coming months. Major reforms to date include progressing the operating model for An Garda Síochána, which will enable a more visible, responsive and localised policing service to communities nationwide; recruitment of more than 3,300 Garda staff, which has resulted in the reassignment of many gardaí to front-line policing duties; distribution of nearly 14,000 digital communication devices, enabling front-line gardaí to perform their duties without returning to stations; implementation of new human rights structures, strategies and training across the organisation; and the introduction of a three-year Garda health and wellbeing strategy, which recognises the enormous stresses gardaí can face in the course of their work.

There has also been legislative reform. The landmark Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023 provides for the most wide-ranging and coherent reform of policing in a generation. It is anticipated that this Bill will be enacted before the end of the year, with early commencement envisaged. The Garda Síochána (Digital Recordings) Bill concerns the use of recording devices, including body-worn cameras. In June, the Cabinet approved the drafting of a general scheme for facial recognition technology legislation. This new Bill will be standalone and deals with concerns raised on facial and object recognition technology and will allow for prioritisation of the enactment of the Recording Devices Bill 2022 before the end of the year. The Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill combines and modernises police powers of search, arrest and detention. In addition, the Garda Síochána (Functions and Operational Areas) Act came into law in 2022 to underpin the new operating model.

These developments represent only some of a wide range of actions completed or being progressed. The implementation group on policing reform is currently focused on arrangements for ensuring the smooth transition to new statutory governance and oversight arrangements. Policing reform has always been a live process and there has always been discretion to adapt to circumstances as need demands, particularly in the light of events such as the disorder in Dublin last Thursday. We have provided a further €10 million for Garda overtime in the city until the end of the year, which is being spent on high-visibility policing in the capital. The Minister for Justice has instructed her officials to include riot and violent disorder in the new facial recognition Bill, which will be ready to go to Government within weeks and will allow for rioters to be brought to justice more readily. We are also accelerating work to recruit more gardaí after the Covid-induced pause. There will be 700 to 800 new recruits this year and 800 to 1,000 next year. These and other actions by the Government show we will not be found wanting in support of An Garda Síochána as it fights crime and disorder.

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