Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

This section deals with secondment from the PSNI to certain ranks in the Garda Síochána while section 47 deals with the reverse situation. Have there been any preliminary discussions with the Chief Constable on this issue? If there have, will the Minister inform us whether any serving PSNI members are interested in secondment to the Garda Síochána? There is a logical reason for interest the other way, particularly in terms of boosting the number of Catholics in the PSNI as a means of achieving the 50:50 regime proposed in the Patten reforms. I am not against the proposal but am interested to know whether discussions with the Chief Constable and the Garda Commissioner have indicated any interest in the proposal and the legislative framework outlined.