James Bannon (Fine Gael)

I welcome elements of the Bill, and in doing so I commend the Garda Síochána on its unfailing professionalism and dedicated service over the years. Many gardaí have made the ultimate sacrifice in the course of carrying out their duties, having lost their lives in the service of their country. Those people should always be remembered for their dedication to the protection of their fellow citizens and I commend them. Often they are just out of sight and out of mind, but their wonderful service in the protection of the State should never be forgotten.

As regards the setting up of local policing committees, these should be established exclusively from public representatives and gardaí. There would be a conflict of interest if they were to operate in conjunction with the county development boards, as proposed in the Bill, as these bodies have a specialised economic, social and cultural brief of their own. I would like the Minister to consider that.

The guidelines for the setting up of these committees should include strong representation from town as well as county councils, as appropriate. This Bill has no role for the elected members of these councils. Based on my experience in local government over the last 18 years, not a month goes by without the issue of crime and law and order coming up at local authority meetings. Local public representatives are at the coalface of what happens within communities. There is a major role for us to play. If there is vandalism on the streets, break-ins etc., these matters are raised at local authority meetings and often take up half the allotted time. Local communities liaise with their representatives who have a pivotal role to play in these matters.

Powers should be given to these local committees to co-opt members or experts. We are all aware from our own communities of people who are involved with the disadvantaged, on drug task forces or in other organisations that try to improve society. Local people know best who is genuinely interested in improving the lot of those who live in a particular town or area. This is something that should be seriously examined. I also believe strongly that those committees should be chaired by a member of the local authority. They are elected by the people, they have a role to play and this should be considered by the Minister. That is what democracy at local level is about. I also recommend that those committees should be established for the full five-year term of the local authority to give them continuity.

The chief superintendent and superintendent should be members of the local committee and should attend its meetings. I disagree with Senator White's argument that the superintendent should delegate a sergeant or a garda for this role. It is important and it gives real teeth and muscle to the committee if the chief superintendent is in attendance at those meetings to take on board the views of other members with regard to improved policing in a particular area.

The Minister should afford the Local Authority Members' Association, representing 1,500 to 1,800 councillors throughout Ireland, of which I am general secretary, an opportunity to meet him after the Bill's enactment and before the guidelines are prepared. This body has strong views on how the guidelines should be implemented. We are at the coalface throughout our political careers. The issues arise at local authority meetings. We have no real powers. We pass on representations to the Garda Síochána and normally get a nice letter of acknowledgement back from the area or district superintendent, and little else happens.

The Bill proposes many progressive measures and will fulfil its purpose if local democracy is involved. The Minister should consider that. However, no matter what measures are put in place and what decisions are taken, no police force can operate to its full potential and ability without sufficient manpower and resources. The most important measure the Government can take in the elimination of crime is the provision of 2,000 extra gardaí promised in the run-up to the local elections. People who are victims of crime feel very peeved that the promises made in the run-up to the last general election have not been fulfilled. Throughout the country, only approximately 55 additional gardaí have been taken on in the year and a half since the Government was re-elected. I hope the Minister can commit himself to the promises made in the run-up to the last election. He was not the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform at the time, but it was in the programme for Government, and he knows exactly what was promised. He is the man behind the steering wheel to deliver on that.

Rural areas, as we all know, have been hard hit by the current crime wave and need increased policing to restore confidence in the system of justice and crime prevention. We all know of daily incidents in rural areas and how vulnerable elderly people are in some parts of the country when Dublin gangs attack in the middle of the night. There is fear in the hearts of many elderly people living in rural areas, and policing should be stepped up there rather than stepped down. Before the Minister's time, there was a policy of closing rural Garda stations, and that was a great mistake, since the gardaí were involved with the local community and made a significant contribution to the development of parishes and communities.

The Minister's family was involved in the foundation of this State with the Fine Gael Party, which has always had a very strong commitment and profile in the area of crime prevention. I am happy to support elements of the Bill which, one hopes, will put an end to the assaults, violent incidents, fatalities and break-ins in rural Ireland that are almost an everyday occurrence. It is sad that not a day goes by without our hearing of fatalities as a result of crime in some part of the country. People get very annoyed and concerned about this.

As I said, Fine Gael stands for law and order and protecting our citizens, and we have a proud record in our former Ministers for Justice. I am delighted that two of those came from my general area, General Seán MacEoin and Paddy Cooney. They were excellent Ministers for Justice. I have no doubt that the Minister does a good job with his portfolio. As I said, it is important that policing in urban and rural areas be stepped up rather than down. I hope the Minister will take on board some of my views. I would appreciate it if he could meet the representative associations of the local authorities on this matter.