Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom fíor fháilte a ghabháil don Aire Stáit, an Teachta Mac Fhionnlaoich. I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this issue.

An Garda Síochána has played a central role in providing security and peace of mind for generations of people in this country. Our gardaí carry out a critical role in the social fabric of thousands of local communities across Ireland. The public and media response to the callous murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe highlighted the deep bond that exists between the Irish people and the gardaí. I was struck by the enormous outpouring of grief and emotion of an entire nation of people who, genuinely and rightly, felt they had lost one of their own, a member of the wider community.

The Government's aim, in allocation Garda resources in these strenuous economic times, is twofold. It is to maximise the visible presence and effectiveness of the gardaí in our communities and to continue to make progress on reducing incidents of crime in urban and rural Ireland. The Government has taken a number of positive measures to ensure that these objectives can be met. With regard to crime rates, the 12 months to October 2012 showed reductions in 12 of the 14 crime groups. Instances of assault and related offences were down 9.5%. Public order offences had fallen by 12%. Drug offences were down 7%. Weapons and explosive offences were down 17.4%. Despite this progress, it is with regret that we have seen instances of burglary increase. This is the only area the Opposition was able to highlight.

I welcome the recent decision by the Minister for Justice and Equality to free up more gardaí from behind desks to ensure that community policing, along with the establishment of programmes such as Operation Fiacla, can go ahead. In the last nine months, Operation Fiacla has contributed to 4,000 people being arrested for burglary related crimes, over 2,000 of whom were later charged.

The closure of 100 Garda stations this year does not mean these communities will be deprived of adequate security or the presence of gardaí. Of these 100 stations, 94% were open for three hours a day or less, 88% were served by one garda and only 5% were manned by three gardaí or more personnel. The Government's commitment is to protecting our communities, and this is unwavering. That is why more than 1,000 gardaí are devoted to community policing.

The closure of these stations was recommended by the Garda Commissioner. Highlighting this fact is not an attempt to have the Commissioner carry the burden of negative coverage. The Garda Síochána is in the best position to make efficiencies and changes where it sees fit. The mission statement of the force is to protect and serve the law abiding public. That remains intact.

The Government is doing everything it can to help the Garda in this area and the 61,000 additional policing hours that will come on stream this year as a result of the freeing up of gardaí will be matched by the Government's support. For example, an allocation of ¤4 million in 2012 led to an increase of 212 in the number of Garda vehicles, an issue raised by previous speakers. An additional ¤5 million will be spent on such vehicles this year. Fianna Fáil's national recovery plan made no reference whatsoever to the purchase of one vehicle.

It is important to acknowledge in the context of Garda pay that the proposals to change working conditions for members are part of the overall reform of the public service and not an attempt to single them out or undermine the Trojan work they do, for which we all owe them a debt of gratitude. The drive for improved efficiencies in the public service is a goal we cannot afford to ignore. As the Government has said previously, it will not be found wanting in the provision of resources for the Garda to do its job. I cannot believe that Fianna Fáil would suggest anything other than that and to table a political motion of no confidence in the Minister for Justice and Equality typifies what the party was about when it was in office.