Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second the motion proposed by Senator O'Donovan on behalf of the Fianna Fáil Senators. I welcome the Minister and thank him for taking this debate. My colleague has covered a number of items in detail. Nearly 12 months ago, I took part in an Adjournment debate with the Minister relating to Malahide Garda station. This was in the first round of closure and downgrading. The Minister stated at the time that the move was not taken for financial reasons. He said the savings from downgrading and closure of stations would be negligible. At the time I raised the examples of Malahide and Rush. Since then, the Minister stated that the downgrading of stations - the early closure of stations - was to free up Garda resources on the beat. That has not happened at any Garda station I have been involved in. I will give the specific example of my Garda station in Malahide. The station closes at night but firearms, uniforms and items of evidence are held in the station. The station does not have an alarm and the superintendent believes the station should be manned, even though the phones are not answered and calls are diverted to Coolock. Gardaí in Coolock must phone gardaí on the beat in Malahide and inform them of what is happening. I use this as an example because it is happening in many Garda stations in urban and rural Ireland. One cannot leave a Garda station unattended if it is a part-time station. It does not free up resources. I refer to it as a downgrade because it is a diminution of its status. In the period since the Minister downgraded that station and others, we have lost 40% of our Garda vehicles. The number of vehicles has decreased from five to three. Three years ago, some 44 gardaí operated in the station, now there are 32. We had five sergeants and we now have two. The Minister said prisoners would not be transferred from part-time stations to other Garda stations but they are being transferred. The Garda car in a particular town is being taken off patrol and is going to the full-time station to transfer prisoners. I attend joint policing committee meetings in my area and senior members of the Garda Síochána inform me that this practice is losing them up to two hours. Over 12 months ago, I mentioned valid reasons this should not happen. It is not an improvement for operational reasons.

I also made reference to a rural Garda station in my constituency, Rush, which was a part-time station but it has now been closed. Since the closure, four armed robberies of local businesses have taken place and there was an attempted arson attack on the church, St. Maur's, two weeks ago.

Perception can be reality and the reality is that people in many areas across the country feel extremely vulnerable. Residents groups are meeting me and are setting up text alert systems so that they can text their neighbours if they see something happening or hear of a burglary in the area. Neighbourhood Watch committees have been set up, which I welcome, but I do not welcome the fact that they are set up on the basis that our citizens, who deserve policing, feel they cannot be policed properly. That is not the fault of the Garda Síochána. Last week, I put on record my deepest sympathies to the family of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe and his colleagues and friends. As part of that contribution, I made it clear that nothing I was saying called into question the Garda Síochána. It is operating at a difficult time, with crime on the increase regardless of what figures are put out there. Garda Síochána resources are being badly stretched. Many Garda units in stations are made up of one garda.

In order to be constructive, I ask the Minister to re-examine the re-opening of Templemore for training. We will have a two-year vacuum before new recruits come onto the scene. I raised this matter before the closing of Templemore. I have experience of the Garda reserve, which does a fantastic job working with full-time gardaí. Its members, who have been trained, should not have to go through the same training to be commissioned as full-time gardaí. The Minister should decide to re-open recruitment to the Garda Síochána and, if he does so, he should look to the Garda Reserve first so that he can fast-track new gardaí on the street.

I would not expect the Minister to be aware that, yesterday on the Order of Business, I mentioned an allegation made at the Dublin north inner city joint policing committee meeting of 10 December, that a directive went from the Department of Justice and Equality to the Courts Service to the effect that alternatives to custodial sentences should be actively considered in the case of burglaries. A letter was sent from the joint policing committee saying that it strongly objected to the suggestion. I would like the Minister to clear up that matter in his contribution. Burglary is a crime and while it may not be a crime on the person in every case, we must consider the after-effect on families whose homes have been violated and whose property has been stolen or destroyed. I hope the suggestion is not true and I ask the Minister to comment.

Regardless of party, we all support the Garda Síochána 100%. We need a Minister in the Department to show the requisite support and respect for gardaí. Morale is at its lowest. There is an active campaign on social media to restart Garda recruitment. I am sure the Minister's officials have seen comments on the campaign, some of which are fair and some of which are not fair. This is a massive issue in every area, urban and rural, because people's safety is paramount. I refer in particular to the areas where the Minister has closed 130 Garda stations since he took over. I also refer to the areas where the Minister has downgraded the status of stations. When I raised this matter, the Minister promised me an improvement in operations and in the number of gardaí on the beat. That has not happened and it is not working. The Minister should go back to the drawing board, re-open Templemore for new recruits and put more gardaí on the street.