Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I have no difficulty in accepting the revised schedule as proposed by the Leader of the House as it makes sense to use that time.

We live in a society where it is increasingly easy to take pot shots at members of the Garda Síochána, where it is increasingly easy to criticise the force, and where it is increasingly right and proper that those members would be held to public account. However I refer to the comments made yesterday by newly appointed head of the Garda Inspectorate, Ms O'Toole, when she spoke to the AGSI conference. These are serious comments in which she referred to the frightening lack of support given to the Garda Síochána in terms of modern firearms, proper weapons training, support for the Garda witness protection scheme and the supply of proper stab-proof vests to all members. If the head of the Garda Inspectorate is saying this so publicly, then this is a worrying issue.

I ask the Leader to raise this matter with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. He needs to set out his response to this issue. It is not good enough continually to introduce and ram through new legislation in this House and in the other House as a determined effort to counter the problems of gangland crime without giving adequate protection and support to members of the Garda Síochána. They are in the front line and are the people whom the Republic is asking to defeat gangland crime and yet, according to the head of the Garda Inspectorate, we are not giving them the level of support, training and the firearms they need to do their job. This is a serious issue and it is particularly useful that this matter has been raised by the newly appointed head of the Garda Inspectorate.

When the Garda Síochána Bill was going through this House, there was possibly a view that members of the force would be suspicious of the newly appointed head of the Garda Inspectorate, but it is proving to be the case that she is doing a fantastic job in highlighting the problems faced by the Garda in defeating crime. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform needs to respond to the points she raised yesterday.