Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

I support calls by Senator Brian Hayes for a debate in respect of the two reports published yesterday, those of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate and the Garda Síochána advisory group. The former refers to the need for civilian support staff to release gardaí for operational duties. It considers the potential risk of disproportionate emphasis placed on headquarters and specialised units to the detriment of uniformed police operation. It calls for greater and more effective uniformed police visibility and notes that uniformed police are the lifeblood of the organisation. It also calls for an immediate acknowledgement of uniformed police field operations.

I interpret that as referring to the need to return to gardaí on the beat working in communities. The Garda Síochána has been heading in the opposite direction in recent years. The number of community gardaí in the areas around where I live, Lucan and Clondalkin, has been slashed. In Clondalkin it dropped from 16 to nine last year. One can see the effects of this. Crime and anti-social behaviour are out of hand in these communities and I seek a reversal of the trend, now that it has been backed up by these two reports. The Labour Party calls for community garda to be a promotional rank. Ms Kathleen O'Toole's report shows that gardaí see specialised units as a promotion route rather than ordinary policing duties. We must change that.