Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 2: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to ensure that frontline policing services are protected or enhanced in the time ahead [7167/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I am firmly committed to supporting the Garda Síochána in prioritising operational front-line policing. This commitment is very much reflected in the Government's programme for national recovery which sets the objective of ensuring administrative duties are carried out by civilian staff to free up highly trained gardaí for the prevention and detection of crime. It also calls for a higher priority to be attached to community policing and, within available resources, for a higher Garda visibility in those local neighbourhoods worst affected by anti-social behaviour. It also recognises that the threat posed by criminal terrorist groups cannot be underestimated, a threat made very real by the callous murder of PSNI Constable Ronan Kerr, to which I have referred, and pledges to foster the continuing strong relationships between the Garda and the PSNI.

The Government's programme recognises and supports front-line policing. The programme also emphasises the importance of public sector reform. In that regard, I note that the Garda has drawn up a reform action plan under the Croke Park agreement. A key aim of this plan is to implement a revised roster system to more closely match the availability of Garda personnel with fluctuating policing demands. This is exactly the kind of practical reform that has the potential to enhance front-line policing and it will have my full support.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister has mentioned the introduction of civilians or non-gardaí to undertake some administrative work. Will the Minister provide further details about the number of people currently behind desks who will be put back onto the front line?

I will focus on one aspect of Garda resources, namely, the Garda vetting programme. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and Deputy Dara Murphy from my constituency are present. They will be well aware of the many community and voluntary groups in our constituency that are facing delays of up to four months in trying to get people cleared to work in that sector. This is having significant effects on the community groups and the individuals concerned. Does the Minister have any plan to try to accelerate the process?

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Civilianisation enables the direct replacement of sworn members who are engaged in exclusively clerical, administrative or technical duties with civilian staff. In many other cases, however, it allows sworn members who would otherwise need to devote substantial parts of their working days performing administrative duties, such as data entry about crime incidents into the PULSE system, to focus exclusively on front line policing duties. Civilian staff may also be recruited to perform new or expanded administrative, managerial and professional support roles in the Garda Síochána, for example, as crime analysts or IT specialists. These roles did not exist within the organisation until recently. In my meeting with the Garda Commissioner, we discussed further the use of civilians in the context of other Garda functions. This matter is now under review and I hope additional gardaí whose work can be undertaken by civilians will be returned to front line services.

The Garda vetting unit does an extraordinary job. Frankly, it is somewhat overwhelmed by the number of applications to it. There has been a substantial increase in the number of applications for vetting. The average timeframe for determining most applications is between ten and 12 weeks, but this is too long. It is an issue about which I complained from the Opposition side of the House more than one year ago. Additional staff have been recruited to the Garda vetting office and sanction is being given for a further ten staff to be recruited. The further development of the office was a subject of my discussion with the Garda Commissioner last Friday. We are examining what steps might be taken to provide additional staff in the vetting office by way of civilians, not by way of gardaí. A number of new arrangements that I hope can be implemented pursuant to the Croke Park agreement would facilitate this.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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In terms of freeing up gardaí, does the Minister have concrete numbers in mind? He has a number of proposals, but does he have a figure in his head for the number of gardaí he would like to see put back onto front line services?

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I do not want at this stage to put a definitive figure on it because it is an issue that the Garda Commissioner is examining. I expect we will have a further conversation about the matter in the not-too-distant future. When the proposals we are considering are finalised, I will be happy to bring the matter before the House again.