Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move:

"That Seanad Éireann has no confidence in the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence Alan Shatter T.D., because of his on-going erosion of the physical security infrastructure of the State through Garda station and Army Barrack closures, systematic undermining of Garda numbers and resources with a deeply inadequate budget allocation and abject failure to address the declining morale in the Garda and Prison Officer force the combined impact of which will directly impact on the frontline protection of citizens across the country.".

It is no wonder that the Seanad has no confidence in the Minister, Deputy Shatter, and any self-respecting Senator on all sides of the House should concur with the motion first on the basis that the Minister has failed to appear to listen to the chief addresses of the Opposition party that tabled the motion. It is outrageous and insulting to the democracy and Parliament of the State that the Minister has chosen to absent himself from the debate. If he wants to get back in touch with the people, if he wants to listen to their real concerns, if he wants to regain the confidence of the Garda, the Defence Forces and the Prison Service, he should drop his arrogant way of conducting business, which has been emphasised here by his absence.

The Minister has lost the confidence of the Garda and the Army. He is dismantling the security infrastructure of the State through the closures of Garda stations and Army barracks. He is involved in an ongoing row between Garda representative bodies which emphasises the mutual distrust on all sides. It is not good for the security of the State that Garda representatives and the gardaí should have no confidence in the Minister, they should be united. Unfortunately the Garda, which consists of over 10,000 men and women who serve the country well, has no confidence in the Minister. It is on that basis that he should not continue in his role. I call on Seanad Éireann to agree with those organisations and members of the Garda Síochána in their no confidence and to vote no confidence in him in the House.

The Minister, in an underhanded manner, has dropped the financial allocation for the Garda so that it effectively applies to 12,000 members. As many as 100 Garda stations have been closed and a couple more are to be closed around the country. Such moves are an attack on the Garda Síochána by the Minister. He has asked people living in commuter belt areas or areas which have no Garda station in rural Ireland to contact the Garda by Facebook. That recommendation is deeply insulting to people who have been victims of crime. It is a joke.

I have heard some politicians state that burglaries have decreased. In the Meath Garda division, with which I am most familiar, and I am sure my colleagues can state a similar experience around the country, burglaries have increased from 208 in the first quarter of 2009 to 322 in the third quarter of 2012. That means that burglaries have increased by over 50% in the Meath Garda division. The Garda has reported a similar increase in all the eastern and Dublin regions. Therefore, instances of burglaries have increased despite people saying that they have decreased.

The Fianna Fáil Party has put forward a fully costed alternative budget.

Under our proposal, we would reopen Templemore for Garda recruitment and keep rural stations open. The Minister has stated that there is no financial saving in closing these stations. He is only doing it because it is his belief that the Garda Síochána should not have a presence and should be online and that gardaí should be performing tasks other than interacting with communities. We disagree wholeheartedly with his vision of policing.

The Minister of State will refer to the IMF agreement and claim that the Department of Justice and Equality is spending more than Fianna Fáil supposedly projected in the four-year development plan. However, this would ignore the fact that more taxes than projected are entering the system, making it possible for a larger allocation to be made. It would also ignore the fact that the Government claims it is tied down by the IMF agreement on many other matters. For example, it is sorry that it cannot change the property tax "because of the IMF agreement". However, the Government claims that it spends more when doing so suits it. The Government has reduced capital spending around the country significantly, as people are constantly reminded. An element of this is the closure of Garda stations.

There has been a stealth cutback in my area in the form of mergers between Garda divisions, with no recognition of population factors or crime statistics. If a superintendent retires in one division, the numbers will be made up by merging the divisions and placing the other division's superintendent in charge of both. There is no thought process or strategic plan and mergers are not being done in the interests of the public. After east and south Meath Garda divisions were merged, they covered nearly half of the county's population and certainly half of its crimes but possessed less than half of the resources. Management decisions that make no sense and are not thought through are being made in response to the retirement of personnel whom the Government forced out of the service and the retirement of those who will be forced out because of budgetary decisions.

The Minister has also undermined the security infrastructure of the State in terms of the armed forces. Army barracks play a vital role around the country in the local economies and communities in which they are based. The Minister should not have proceeded with the closures. They have proven to be a social, personal and financial inconvenience to the affected members of the armed forces. They must drive considerable distances to get to work, which costs them significant amounts of money. The number of members of the armed forces who are in receipt of the family income supplement from the Department of Social Protection is an embarrassment to the State. Despite risking their lives in the Army every day, they must claim FIS payments because their wages are not large enough.

While we have yet to examine the full implications of the Croke Park II deal, they seem to be considerable for members of the Defence Forces. The last few pages of the deal outline a detailed programme of cuts to Army personnel, who are already among some of the lowest paid workers in the public sector. Examining the level of cuts will take the soldiers time.

The Seanad should have no confidence in the Minister. He fails to appear before us, arrogantly waves away any opposition or dissent, does not take into account the feelings of the people on the ground who know best and is pleased to sit in his office giving orders and directions that are not agreed with by citizens or their security and police services.

I wish to pay tribute to the gardaí and Army personnel who continue performing their duties in difficult circumstances. However, their job is becoming increasingly difficult. A new direction, new approach and new vision of policing are necessary. That vision cannot be stuck in an office on the other side of this building. It must grapple with and debate the issues and improve the country's policing service.