Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome some of the detail but I think there is a problem here. Allocating 2% to total training, including initial training, is certainly not enough. Under the heading of Enabling Curiosity and Learning, the Policing Authority in its most recent review reported that review of performance is inconsistent and does not focus on outcomes. It points to a gulf with the experience learnt from those on the front line and strategic management in the Garda.

10 o’clock

It says that notable examples of excellence are out there, but there is no shared understanding and no learning from these excellent examples. We need to empower leadership at local level in An Garda Síochána and we need to give people the time and the tools to have honest conversations about how an individual station or division is operating. I do not see evidence that such self-examination and learning is happening in An Garda Síochána. In 2015 it was reported that no in-service training was occurring in An Garda Síochána and that a learning strategy was to be developed. Have we made sufficient progress since then? There needs to be a specific audit of how empowered local leaders feel in individual units so that they can lead more effectively.

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