Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is fine. I welcome the Minister to the House and commend him for his incredible work-rate. The last number of weeks have seen a lot of talk about changes in Garda practice and station closures. This motion addresses the concern of the Garda Commissioner about not wanting to let the levels in the service drop below 13,000. Fianna Fáil's plan would have hit exactly that number in 2014 yet, right now, Garda numbers are still above what Fianna Fáil was projecting back in 2012. Therefore, I would have to say this Fianna Fáil motion smacks of hypocrisy, wherein it opposes these reforms although its own National Recovery Plan 2011-14 showed that it proposed a reduction in Garda numbers and bigger cuts in the Garda budget. It is hypocrisy that, out of one of side of his mouth, the Fianna Fáil leader laments the parish pump politics and the continuation of politics as usual, but he then engages in precisely that. It is hypocrisy in that Fianna Fáil does not care about the actual numbers, with crime having reduced between 2008 and 2012, and instead tries to generate fear in communities.

Numbers - real numbers - matter, so they should. Let us take a look at some of the Fianna Fáil numbers and compare them to our own. In 2012 the Minister, Deputy Shatter, secured ¤2.243 billion, which was an additional ¤118 million over and above the intended Fianna Fáil allocation of ¤2.125 billion. For this year, the Minister secured funding of ¤2.2 billion, which was ¤191 million over and above the Fianna Fáil allocation of ¤2.009 billion. The reality of these numbers is that the budget for policing is better off than it would have been under Fianna Fáil's plans. It is there in black and white in Fianna Fáil's own report.

Nevertheless, despite Fianna Fáil attempting to generate controversy and upset in communities over these policing issues, let us look at some facts about Garda station closures. Of the 100 stations to be closed in 2013, 98% are open part time while 94% are open for three hours a day or less. Meanwhile, in terms of personnel, 88% are served by one garda and only 5% are served by three or more Garda personnel. What does this mean precisely? In the case of one garda manning a station, it now means one garda is freed up to patrol. The reality of advancing technology, communications and equipment for gardaí means gardaí are now deployed on our streets and are able to access information and communicate as effectively and efficiently as they were when based at a station just ten years ago. Policing is evolving as technology evolves and our structures need to evolve with it.

Evidently, this has the capacity to scare people as they think police coverage will be thinner, and Fianna Fáil plays on this fear. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that to have Fianna Fáil bemoaning stations closing and better equipped gardaí being allowed to protect the streets is akin to complaining that we no longer buy as many muskets for the army as we used to and have instead upgraded them. Technology changes and processes update. Having a station open for three hours a day when the gardaí can be better deployed elsewhere is pure symbolism, which I know many politicians like to specialise in.

Fine Gael has always prided itself on its position as a law and order party, and that is so in this case also. However, for once, the greater good and the good of the police force clashes with the parish pump. We have chosen the good of the police force. I am sorry to say this motion shows Fianna Fáil already harking back to the parish pump.