Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

Okay, I did not notice something that nobody else had seen. It is obvious that amendment No. 123 makes a change by clarifying that the two non-Garda appointees to a promotion panel cannot be or have been members of the Garda Síochána. Amendment No. 124 alters the wording of this section of the Bill slightly, but it does not make much of a difference to the existing provisions. It states that the two non-Garda appointees should be "suitably qualified persons appointed to the panel by the Government". That is something that could have been referred to in the regulations anyway. It does not make a major change to what was already in the legislation.

I would like to make a general point about the section of the Bill being amended by these amendments. Senator Maurice Hayes made a point about the training of gardaí when the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, was in the House. He asked why gardaí cannot be trained alongside trainee social workers and other professionals. That point was also made by other commentators, such as Professor Dermot Walsh, who said that one way to tackle the inward-looking culture in the force would be to train gardaí outside Templemore, for example in universities.

The Minister, who made a comment about this matter when it was raised the other day, needs to listen to people like Senator Maurice Hayes and Professor Dermot Walsh, who know a great deal about this area. Their argument makes a great deal of sense. I read the Minister's comment about trainee gardaí sitting around on beanbags, but that is not what has been suggested. It might be no harm for them to engage in a small amount of such activity. If trainee gardaí discuss issues with people who are studying other disciplines, they might get a broader perspective on the role of the force. UCD has initiated the "horizons" programme, under which people studying engineering, for example, can study alongside arts undergraduates, for example. It is a good thing to encourage people to have a broader outlook on their professional activities. I hope the Minister will provide for such a change, which a brave independent police authority might have considered.