Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Is é 2013, bliain na Gaeilge. I see in the Gallery Dublin city councillor, Mary Freehill, who works in the community. I welcome her to the House. The local councillors have played a significant role in local community initiatives. I welcome the debate on the Private Members' motion on community development, in particular the opening paragraph which states:

That Seanad Éireann:- notes the importance of initiatives taken in many areas by local authorities, voluntary organisations and business groupings to improve the quality of life in local communities;

Yesterday we debated local government reform, putting people first. I did stress in that debate the importance of local community and local council input and the involvement of those involved in local development in community issues.

In the UK, the Association of Town Centre Management has adopted a purple flag which indicated that town centres and city districts are safe and constitute a pleasant place to be, with good levels of cleanliness and security generally. Ennis in County Clare was the first town and Dublin city was the second to apply for this flag. I want to give credit to Councillor Johnny Flynn from Ennis who initiated and subsequently proposed to the municipal policy committee the Purple Flag initiative adopted by Ennis Town Council earlier this year. Ennis has gone through and completed the pathfinder process. Hopes are high in this regard. Dublin city, through the Dublin City Council and Dublin city BIDs programme, is applying through the pathfinder process as well to have the purple flag in the Dublin city area. I hope we will see many changes coming under the Purple Flag initiative.

The Purple Flag initiative started in England in 2009 and is run in partnership with industry, licence holders, retailers, central and local government, police and consumers. It is based on extensive research, market testing and piloting pathfinder projects. There are many groups involved in the scheme. There are two projects in Ireland, the first is based in Ennis and Dublin city is engaging in the process. The local council joint policing committees would be well placed to take this forward on a national basis, but obviously one must crawl before one walks. We will see how the first two towns get on and I hope the Minister will inform all of the local councils of this initiative, which is worth following. It is successful in 25 towns in England and I understand that four or five towns in the North are involved as well. The award is designed to provide recognition to places which demonstrate excellent standards in managing the area at night. We have heard Members comment on the safety of areas at night, but this initiative, driven by community and business, seeks to ensure that areas are visitor friendly at night and help to overcome any negative perceptions that may exist. A Purple Flag week is hosted in England and we may consider adopting it here in order to raise awareness of this initiative. We must try to replicate the success by promoting and expanding the Purple Flag initiative across the length and breadth of Ireland.

It is not easy to be awarded a purple flag. One must meet standards under the following criteria, safety, care, movement of people, transport, car parking and how bars and restaurants are managed in the area. This initiative is done in conjunction with the business association in England. In Dublin, the Dublin City Business Improvement District, BID, is the body which is leading on this initiative. It was Councillor Johnny Flynn and the business association in Ennis that were the first to start the purple flag initiative in Ireland.

The provision of community services and policing contribute immensely to improving the quality of life. Many speakers have concentrated on the Garda resources in rural areas. Community policing and safety has come to the fore with the highlighting of the drastic incidents in County Donegal where elderly people have been robbed in their homes. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, emphasised that cuts to Garda numbers and the closure of rural Garda stations meant that more officers would be on the road instead of behind desks. What is important is that gardaí will not be sitting in stations but will be engaged in front-line policing. I share the Minister's view. We cannot go back to the dark ages, we must move forward.
An Garda Síochána's Policing Plan 2013 outlines the Commissioner's proposals for the continued reorganisation and consolidation of the Garda station district. After the closure of 100 Garda stations in 2013, there will still be 564 Garda stations in the State. This will be significantly more than the comparable number in Northern Ireland, in which there are 86 stations for a population of 1.5 million or Scotland in which there are 340 stations for a population of 5.2 million people. We must be realistic. The essential point of the Garda Commissioner's strategy for reorganisation and consolidation is to make best use of our well-trained and well-educated gardaí and, in particular, to maximise their time on operational duties.

Until recently the Garda station network was essentially the same as the RIC network which operated in 1922, when the bicycle was the mode of transport. This is not appropriate for the policing needs of 21st century or consistent with modern policing practice. The Garda Síochána now has an "A" class police computer system, a state-of-the-art digital radio system and a transport fleet which is currently receiving significant investment. An additional investment of ¤3 million in the Garda fleet towards the end of 2012 has resulted in more than 170 new vehicles being purchased. These vehicles are currently entering into service. A further ¤5 million has been made available for the purchase and fit out of new Garda vehicles in 2013 because gardaí need vehicles to get around. The substantial investment will contribute in a significant way to the ability of the force to operate to the optimum benefit of our communities throughout the country. A previous Member spoke about Operation Fiacla so I will not dwell in detail on it. The Garda must be commended for the operation of the effective Operation Fiacla. As of 31 December 2012, 3,538 persons have been arrested and 1,924 have been charged as part of that operation. I commend the Garda for that.
Neighbourhood Watch and the Community Alert schemes are very important. The people in County Donegal stressed the importance of texting between communities and the local involvement in Neighbourhood Watch and Community Alert. They did not, however, stress the importance of the Garda station in the community, with the garda sitting inside. Texting and mobile technology the GPS are very effective. The Minister for Justice and Equality made the point two weeks ago that there is no possibility of losing 1,500 gardaí this year. There is no question of gardaí not being properly paid. In the past number of years, the average retirement figure per annum has been 400 so that will leave Garda numbers above 13,000. Costs are being streamlined in the force but this does not equate with poor or reduced service. In the context of effecting efficiencies, there is a broad range of initiative being taken and I compliment the Garda on the work it is doing and the efficiencies it is putting in place, which makes valuable use of its resources.

The motion "notes the very limited powers of local authorities under Irish law to compel any actions on private lands, even where gross negligence or nuisance is alleged, and notes that in England, by contrast, legislation gives councils power in particular to enter on private lands and to compel action on private lands;". I ask the Minister to consider this point. Councils in Ireland have their hands tied behind their backs. I ask the Minister to considering giving power to the local authorities. I ask him to ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to change the legislation. We should do what England does because it works there.