Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator D'Arcy for raising this important issue.

The Senator will be aware that proposals to alter Garda districts are in the first instance a matter for the Garda Commissioner, in accordance with the provisions of the Garda Síochána Acts. The Garda Annual Policing Plan for 2013, which was laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas in December 2012, set out the Commissioner's proposals in relation to changes within a number of Garda divisions. These changes include proposals to merge 28 Garda districts into 14 expanded districts, including the merger of the Gorey Garda district with the Enniscorthy district within the Wexford division.

The Commissioner's priority in introducing the changes in the 2013 policing plan is to ensure the continued delivery of an effective policing service throughout the country and that Garda resources are deployed to meet the existing and projected policing requirements within all divisions in 2013, including the Wexford division. The amalgamation of Garda districts into larger districts as outlined in the 2013 policing plan will allow for the more flexible deployment of resources and provide improved economies of scale in terms of administration.

The Garda Commissioner has stated that while the revised structures will further enhance operational capacity, they will also continue to support the Garda community policing philosophy. The objective will be to ensure that the best possible policing service will continue to be provided to our communities. The Commissioner makes these decisions in consultation with those working with him. As Minister, I will not second guess the operational judgment of the Commissioner. In that context, I was delighted to launch earlier today the Garda community crime prevention programmes booklet and to acknowledge the very valuable work done by all of those involved in Community Alert and Neighbourhood Watch schemes throughout the country. Members of An Garda Síochána work closely with all communities to enhance community safety through a wide range of local fora, including Community Alert and Neighbourhood Watch. As Minister, I will continue to do everything I can to support the Garda Commissioner in maintaining the strong Garda connection with the community and to ensure that to the maximum extent possible resources will continue to be made available to An Garda Síochána.

The proposed change within the Wexford division is aimed at freeing up gardaí from behind the desk, so they are out and about in our communities engaging in frontline policing and are preventing, detecting and disrupting crime. It is about maximising the time that our well-trained and highly-skilled gardaí spend on operational duties. This requires that available resources are deployed in the most efficient manner to provide for increased Garda visibility and improved Garda mobility.

In the context of the reconfiguration of Garda districts and the consolidation of Garda stations nationally, it is important to emphasise that the measures being implementing are not a cost-cutting measure. As result of these new arrangements, an extra 61,000 Garda patrol hours will be available in 2013. Despite the cuts in last year's budget it is worth noting that I managed to make available some ¤4 million that enabled the purchase of 213 new Garda vehicles in 2012. I have also secured dedicated funding of ¤5 million for the purchase of a significant number of new vehicles in 2013. I reiterate that this is about ensuring that the budget for the Garda Síochána of over ¤1.4 billion is used effectively and efficiently to provide the best possible policing service for the benefit of the people of the State.

I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation for the commitment provided by every member of the force. I want to express my gratitude to them, on behalf of all of our citizens, for the excellent service that they provide. I am confident that the changes outlined in the Garda Policing Plan 2013 will enable that level of service to continue.

It is worth saying that we are engaged in a substantial and radical reform of the manner in which the policing services are being delivered Such reform should have been introduced many years ago by my predecessors. I thank the Garda Commissioner for his innovation and excellent assessment and work in this regard. In 2012, a new Garda roster was established which ensures that we have gardaí operating at the times when they are required. We have the station consolidation process which frees up members of the force to engage in more community policing. We are now restructuring the Garda fleet, a matter of considerable importance. It is worth noting that the outgoing Fianna Fáil Government in its National Development Plan 2010 made no provision for funding or capital funding of any nature between 2010 and 2015 for the purchase of new Garda vehicles. The cuts that it sought to affect across the justice family expenditure area exceeded, on average, ¤90 million per year over and above the reduction in resources that my Government has had to deal with.

This is my first opportunity in this House, but I have done so in the other Chamber, to once again express my deep sadness at the brutal murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe who was laid to rest yesterday. May he rest in peace. I would like to use the opportunity to thank Senator Michael D'Arcy for raising these issues today. I will use the opportunity to yet again appeal to any individual anywhere in the community within the State or in Northern Ireland who can assist the Garda or the PSNI in any way whatsoever in the investigation that is under way, and into those who brutally and callously shot down Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, to make contact with the Garda Síochána or the PSNI and to provide every piece of information that is possible to ensure that those responsible are fully identified, that they are ultimately arrested and properly brought before our courts.