Dáil debates
Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
An Garda Síochána
9:55 pm
Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister for Justice, Deputy Harris, and thank him for taking this very important issue. I remind the House that making Sligo Garda station a divisional headquarters was an issue before I became a Deputy for Sligo-Leitrim in February 2020. My predecessor, Tony McLoughlin, pressed this issue very hard during his time in the House. In fact, the Office for Public Works, OPW, purchased a site for a new divisional headquarters in Caltragh in Sligo. In recent years, some major refurbishments and renovations have taken place at the current station on the Pearse Road in Sligo. This follows major protests from serving gardaí, resulting at one stage in a walkout. I thank the Minister and the OPW for the allocation of funding to date, but as the saying goes, there is "a lot done, more to do" in regard to Sligo Garda station.
I raised this matter in July 2020 with the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. At the time, matters were outlined to me as follows. I was told that it was important to be clear that the Garda Commissioner was by law responsible for the management and control of An Garda Síochána and the effective and efficient use of Garda resources, and that the OPW had responsibility for the provision and maintenance of Garda accommodation.
The decision not to proceed with a new Garda station in Sligo as part of the Garda PPP programme was made by the Garda Commissioner in his capacity as Accounting Officer and as the person responsible, by law, for the allocation of Garda resources. The decision was taken in the context of significant reorganisation of Garda resources, which underpins the new Garda operating model announced by the Garda Commissioner last year.
As part of the reduction of bureaucracy and the streamlining of administrative processes under the new operating model, the number of Garda regions and divisions is being reduced, and Sligo Garda station will be neither a regional headquarters nor a divisional headquarters. Consequently, Garda management has decided a building of the scale envisaged under the original PPP programme is no longer operationally required in Sligo and that the allocation of public funding for such a project can no longer be justified. This decision was communicated to the Department by letter on 2 January 2020. I am informed that, in order to ensure adequate accommodation to provide an effective policing service in Sligo, the existing Garda station is undergoing a very extensive refit, overseen by the OPW.
Since 2017, well over €1 million has been spent on the current Garda headquarters. I ask the Minister to examine, in conjunction with the OPW, more options to expand the current facilities at Sligo Garda station although a site is presumably still owned by the OPW at Caltragh. I am still concerned that the facilities at Sligo Garda station need further expansion. The possibility of acquiring more space to the rear to expand the facility should be considered. If possible, the campus should be returned as divisional headquarters.
Furthermore, I am concerned that the armed response unit is not based in the county. There is an opportunity to locate it in either Ballymote or Tubbercurry, which have space and are not too far from the Sligo Garda station. There is deep disappointment over what many feel is the downgrading of Sligo's status as a regional city and the capital of the north-west region because of the decision by the Commissioner in 2020. We are all aware of the crime statistics for the region. I hope this matter will be addressed. A review of the 2020 decision is now required.
10:05 pm
Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Minister for being here for this important matter.
Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to be here. I thank Deputy Feighan for raising the issue. Like him, I recall the contribution of our former colleague and friend Tony McLoughlin on these issues.
I thank Deputy Feighan for engaging with me on this issue over recent weeks and months. As he will appreciate, and as outlined in his contribution, the Garda Commissioner is responsible in law for the management and administration of Garda business, which includes all operational policing decisions. The Commissioner is also responsible for the distribution and stationing of An Garda Síochána throughout the State. As Minister for Justice, I rightly play no role in these independent functions and do not seek to direct or influence the Commissioner in these matters.
I am advised, however, that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review to ensure their optimum use in light of identified operational needs and emerging crime trends. I am informed that community policing resources rose by 50% between 2017 and last month in the Sligo-Leitrim division. I am further advised that the division has benefited from an increase of almost 60% in Garda civilian staff over the period 2015 to February of this year, and this significant rise in civilian resources is undoubtedly a most valuable support to Garda members in the area in recent years. There is, contrary to what one sometimes hears, a very significant upward trend in Garda class size in Templemore. As we continue to see the number of recruits in Templemore rise, I look forward to Sligo benefiting from a greater Garda presence and more Garda resources.
The Garda operating model is being introduced as part of A Policing Service for the Future, which is the implementation plan based on the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. The new model introduces major changes to the structures of An Garda Síochána. The aim is to provide more front-line gardaí, increased Garda visibility and a wider range of policing services for people in their local areas. It will particularly enhance the investigation of crime through the delivery of a greater range of specialised services in local areas, such as the investigation of sexual crime, domestic violence, cybercrime and economic crime. We must not have circumstances in which these are all just national functions; we actually need to make sure these specialist services are also available in local areas, particularly in the important areas outlined.
The operating model is designed to make each division the central unit of policing administration, which contrasts with the current smaller district model, to benefit from greater scale. The main benefits of the model will be the streamlining of administrative processes and a reduction in bureaucracy, which will allow for the release of gardaí from back-office functions to the front line.
The rolling out of the new operating model will result in a reduction in the number of Garda divisions from the current 28 to 19, with each comprising four functional areas, namely, community engagement, crime, performance assurance and business services. Each division will for the first time have a superintendent dedicated to crime, a superintendent dedicated to governance and performance assurance, and a number of superintendents in charge of community engagement. I really want to see us get back to good, old-fashioned community policing, whereby, no matter where you live in Ireland, be it a city, town or village, you know the name, contact number and email address of your community garda and how to get in touch with him or her. That is the real benefit of the new model from a front-line policing point of view.
An Garda Síochána has committed to ensuring superintendents will be in locations throughout a division and not all located in divisional headquarters. An important message for the people of Sligo is that there will be superintendents throughout the division, rather than having them all sit in headquarters.
The headquartering of the armed support unit is also an operational matter for the Commissioner but I am assured there are currently sufficient resources available to the unit.
I suggest to the Deputy, in light of his raising this important matter here this evening and in the knowledge that I am due to visit Sligo shortly with him as part of a significant advance I am making while wearing my other hat regarding St. Angela's College and all the good work being done there, that we visit the Garda station in Sligo, meet the local Garda team and public representatives and see how best we can assure gardaí and indeed the Sligo community of the benefits of the new model and support them with any resources they require.
Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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It sounds like a very good idea.
Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I am disappointed with the response. I really feel Sligo should be a divisional headquarters. The headquartering of the armed support unit in Tubbercurry or Ballymote, or elsewhere around Sligo, is very important.
I come from a family and tradition that are very proud of the men and women of An Garda Síochána. My grandfather was one of the first gardaí. We have always had great respect for the Garda. The Garda saw very difficult times and held the line for democracy in this country. That is something I will never forget. Respect is evident among the people in Sligo, the west in general and the country as a whole.
I feel the decision made was not made in the best interests of Sligo or the region. Again, I ask the Commissioner and the Garda, for which I have great respect, to revisit this matter and consider the available resources. I have met representatives from the Garda Representative Association, many gardaí and many of the stakeholders. I listen to what is said on the ground and genuinely believe we should have had a new state-of-the-art Garda station at Caltragh, maybe working with the National Ambulance Service. It would have made great sense.
As the only Government Deputy in a constituency covering Sligo, Leitrim, north Roscommon and south Donegal, I believe the Government would be able to get the required funding. It is not that the Minister can talk to the Commissioner but I ask that the matter be revisited because I do not believe funding for a new Garda barracks should be an issue, albeit that a lot of money has been made available for upgrading.
The Minister is very welcome to Sligo. I invite him to visit Sligo Garda station. If he is looking for directions, it is across from my constituency office, on Pearse Road.
Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I would say he will have no bother finding it.
Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy and commend his family's proud tradition of service with An Garda Síochána. There is no greater service given than that of the men and women of An Garda Síochána in keeping our country and people safe. They have done so proudly through community policing for 100 years. We are all very conscious of and grateful for that.
Divisional headquarters have moved from my constituency to the neighbouring county but I know when I talk to constituents, neighbours, friends and fellow public representatives that they want to know whether there will be more gardaí on the beat and fewer sitting behind desks doing paperwork and other office work. They also want to know whether there will be more community engagement and more Garda vehicles. For me, the Government and our party, that is at the core of what policing has to be about.
I believe the new operating model will help to get us there. It is quite rightly a matter for the Garda Commissioner to decide where divisional headquarters are located and how he distributes Garda resources across the country. I am happy to convey the Deputy's view to him, although I think his position on it is quite clear. Lest there be any confusion or misrepresentation by others on this issue, that is not to say that the gardaí and people of Sligo do not deserve a Garda station that recognises the significance of Sligo in terms of its population and the importance of Sligo in terms of our national development plan and its being a gateway for the north west. I would be very happy to visit the Garda station with the Deputy - across from his constituency office - and meet with the Garda chief superintendent and superintendents. My office will be in touch to make those arrangements.