Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister. I reject the comments from the other side on Senator Terry's measured contribution. The Minister is far from chastised and, in any case, is well able to look after himself.

It is correct to begin by paying tribute to the Garda Síochána. We have owed its members a great debt of gratitude since the foundation of the State. They are more than just guardians of the peace. They have put their lives on the line in tough times during which the security of the State was threatened and they continue to do so. Brave and courageous gardaí have lost their lives in exchanges with armed thugs and terrorists and the threat is still there. As a police force which is in the main unarmed, the Garda Síochána is among the most respected forces in Europe if not the world. It is only right and fitting that we record our gratitude to the gardaí who perform their duties in an exemplary manner in what are often difficult circumstances.

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule as there are in most professions but it is important that we do not go overboard in response to complaints against the Garda. I do not suggest that the Bill before us does that. I welcome the proposal to provide for the establishment of the Garda Síochána ombudsman commission, as do gardaí. It will instil greater public confidence in the Garda which is of paramount importance especially at this time. It is only fair to state that over 50% of complaints levelled against gardaí through the Garda Complaints Board were found to be vexatious and malicious.

There was a time when a garda could give a clip on the ear to a petty criminal and warn him or her about his or her future conduct. While that worked in many instances, the day when it was possible, unfortunately, is long gone. This is a more accountable age in which it is imperative that everything is done transparently and in an above-board manner. Section 86 of the Bill provides that the ombudsman may ask that a senior officer is assigned to investigate a complaint against the Garda and that the complainant can appeal any decision of the ombudsman. Surely, there should be no unsupervised investigations. The ombudsman's office should be involved in any investigation from the very beginning rather than creating a scenario of potential double jeopardy as appears to be the case with the Bill as I read it. Is it envisaged that a High Court judge will be appointed at the outset to deal with instances in which a garda has a complaint against an officer or officers of the ombudsman's office?

I welcome the proposal to appoint local authority members to policing committees. Like Senator Walsh, I am unsure about the involvement of development boards and other bodies but this is an area in which elected local representatives should be involved. It is a positive idea. For the last few years, the superintendent in Waterford has met a couple of times annually with a member of each of the political parties represented on the city council to discuss problems in the city. The practice has worked very well. While the provisions in the Bill are positive, I ask the Minister to ensure it is local authority members who are included on policing committees as elected representatives. The meetings should be held publicly while reserving the right to enter private committee if necessary. Obviously, matters of a confidential nature will be discussed at some committees and family names may, on occasion, be mentioned in respect of certain problems and trouble caused. I welcome the establishment of local policing committees. It will be of help to the community and to gardaí. I am sure the superintendent in Waterford would commend such committees also having found his meetings with local authority members to be of assistance.

Section 26 relates to charges. While I have no problem with charging banks and financial institutions for police escorts, I am worried about proposals on sporting events and festivals. When I read the provision whereby a festival may be required to pay for its policing, I thought immediately of Waterford's Spraoi festival. This street festival is probably one of Ireland's largest and attracts over 50,000 people to the city. The organisers perform a tremendous job operating on a shoe-string budget. If they were asked to do without the consent and willingness of the Garda to police the event, this major tourist attraction would certainly not go ahead. I ask the Minister to tell the House whether the Bill will provide the Garda with the flexibility not to charge for the policing of such events. While I have no problem with charging for events which make hundreds of thousands of euro such as concerts, there should be flexibility for the Garda when it comes to an event like Spraoi. It would be regressive to charge and it would put the festival out of business.

I welcome section 38 which requires the Garda to publish an annual report four months after year end. This is a positive step given our receipt only in the last week or so of the Garda report for 2002. Senator Walsh spoke about Garda representative associations and political affiliations. The Bill goes a little too far in this respect and returns to the 1924 position when the 1977 amendments would have sufficed. The provisions in this regard are not progressive.

Senator Ormonde hit the nail on the head when she pointed out that there are not enough gardaí to police the State at present. Where are the 2,000 extra gardaí the Minister promised? I hope that commitment will be delivered on without delay.

Since taking office, the Minister has made available the provisional statistics. This practice is welcome. However, I take issue with the decision to bury the negative message of increasing crime rates in 2002 by releasing provisional statistics for 2003.