Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy. There is always more we can do. One of the biggest challenges in providing training over recent years has been ensuring gardaí have the time to take up courses, either during their working time or outside of that. It is about investment in Garda members and ensuring we have the capacity and the ability for members to take time off. This is hugely important. We also must ensure that we have the funding and that gardaí are looking at what type of training is required. The Deputy is right in saying we must ensure it is benchmarked and monitored. A framework within the Garda College looks at programme monitoring, periodic reviews, external examiner reviews, student surveys and internal policy reviews. The overall objective of the framework is to ensure the training that is being provided is doing what it needs to do and, as the Deputy states, we have an understanding that it is working and that people are benefiting from it.

An overall audit is something that could be looked at. Certainly, if there is a need to do more and to identify where the gaps are, such an audit would certainly identify them.

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