Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome this debate on the significant issue of community policing and community safety. It was a prominent issue for many people in my constituency before the recent general election. I wish the Minister the very best in his role. It is a difficult role and one that involves many demands. Safety, and giving people a sense of safety, is something we as a Government must prioritise. I welcome many of the initiatives in this area in the programme for Government. The target to increase the Garda force by 5,000 is very welcome. The provision of additional Garda staff is an important factor as it can free up gardaí for front-line policing. Equipping Garda stations as part of a capital plan is critical, as is the roll-out of CCTV, which is a tool we need to use to a greater extent. With the exception of a handful of towns, CCTV is only available in city centres at present. We need to roll it out to a far greater degree.

At its heart, policing should be preventative, proactive and visible. Unfortunately, at the moment, we do not have that. Our Garda force is not sufficiently strong and gardaí are stretched beyond belief in trying to fulfil their duties. It is difficult for them to get out on the streets to the extent they need to do. In Cork, we feel we are not getting a fair share of garda allocations. When the classes graduate from Templemore, Cork city division does not get a sufficient number. I have spoken to the Minister about that and I hope he will be mindful of it in the future.

Our Garda stations are no longer accessible to the public because they are not open to any great extent. In the area I represent, which includes towns with large population bases, Garda stations are open only a handful of hours per week. That is simply not acceptable. People want to be able to walk into a Garda station and carry out their business with a garda, whether that is passing on a complaint or discussing some issue of concern locally. It is something they should be able to do. I ask the Minister to take that matter up with Garda management. The policing model must be about accessibility in terms of Garda station opening hours and local visibility.

As well as our overall targets for recruitment and retaining the gardaí we already have, we must look at the role of gardaí and how they spend their time. Much of that time is not spent out on the street policing in a visible way. They are behind a desk dealing with paperwork, stuck in court waiting to give evidence and so on. This is a critical aspect of the job to which consideration must be given. It is not all about recruitment and retention. We must see how we can use the resources we have to a far greater extent.

I raise a specific point that I hope the Minister can address. On my way here today, I had a discussion with a person who, for family reasons, had to leave the Garda a couple of years ago. This person looked for a career break but could not secure it. For obvious reasons, Garda management does not want to release members of the force. Having had to resign, this person is now seeking reinstatement to the force, which is possible to do within a five-year period. Unfortunately, this former garda has been told the process of reinstatement could take up to ten months. That seems absolutely ludicrous. These are fully qualified gardaí looking to get back into the force. They are fully attested and ready and willing to go on duty but they are being told that, for some reason, it could take up to ten months to be re-attested. Will the Minister address this matter? These are gardaí we need to get back out on the streets. They are willing to do it.

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