Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy McGinley, to the House. He is a man for whom I have great respect. I thank him for his major contribution. As Senator MacSharry has said he has been thrown in at the deep end to come in to defend the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter. I apologise that this has happened to an honourable and decent man.

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, has form in this regard. A little more than 12 months ago, I tabled a Private Members' motion on behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party on the closure of Army barracks. On that occasion, the Minister did not pay us the courtesy of attending and sent the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe. I am glad he has learned from that experience and he did not turn up on this occasion either. I do not think it is acceptable that the Minister is not present to hear the views of the Opposition. I know he is in the House because he has been spotted by a colleague of mine, a little more than an hour ago. It is not acceptable that he is not here himself to take this motion.

At a time of rising numbers of burglaries, drug smuggling and serious dissident activity, the Government is going way beyond the EU-IMF agreement in slashing Garda numbers to the lowest level in over a decade and closing Garda stations. My colleagues have outlined the reasons this is not a good idea and I do not intend to repeat them. Morale in the Garda Síochána is at an all-time low. Not only are the Garda representative associations in open conflict with the Minister's handling of Garda pay and conditions, but ordinary members of the force throughout the length of the country are struggling not only to survive but to do their job because they have not got the resources they need to do it. As my colleague, Senator MacSharry, said, there are six detectives in Cavan town. For a period of three months they had no unmarked car. I raised the issue in this House and a couple of days ago they were given a car with less than 20,000 miles left on the clock.

Does the Minister of State think that is acceptable? The Garda Síochána in County Cavan does not have the number of marked cars required to carry out its duties to the full extent. Garda superintendents are faced with having to put together 12-hour rosters in order to police large areas. In addition, Garda chief superintendents and superintendents are faced with an amalgamation of Garda districts, to which Senator Thomas Byrne alluded, without an increase in numbers to carry out such duties.

As Senator MacSharry said, one of the major commitments in both the Fine Gael and Labour Party manifestos was to community policing with gardaí living in the local community. Tell that to communities that now see their Garda stations being closed. Tell that to gardaí and their families who have to move up to 30 miles in some cases due to the amalgamation of Garda districts. This situation is unacceptable. Ordinary gardaí are at breaking point. I want to pay tribute to each and every member of the Garda Síochána of all ranks for the excellent work they are doing in protecting our communities in such difficult circumstances.

The Minister, Deputy Shatter, also holds the Defence portfolio. What a disgrace he has been as Minister for Defence. It is a disgrace to hide behind the financial situation as an excuse for closing Army barracks, such as Dún Uí Néill in Cavan town. In his earlier contribution, the Minister of State alluded to the fact that ¤85 million has been raised to date by the sale of that property. How much of that sum, however, has come from other Government Departments and State agencies? The vast majority of that money has come from other Departments. What saving is there in the three-card trick of the Department of Defence selling Dún Uí Néill to the Department of Education and Skills? At the same time, the soldiers who were based there are being paid to go to other barracks. What security is there in soldiers from Dún Uí Néill being moved to Athlone, while dissident activity is increasing just seven miles from where they were originally based? If there is a crisis it will take over two hours for Army personnel to get to the Border. That is the reality, but is it progress or smart defence? What an insult it is to the Garda Síochána to say that we are going to implement better and smarter policing. What does that tell the members of An Garda Síochána who have served the State over the decades?

The Minister, Deputy Shatter, should resign not just for the reasons that I and my colleagues have outlined, but also because there is a constitutional conflict in his holding both the Justice and Defence portfolios. There are only two Ministers in Government who are charged with the responsibility of signing bugging orders. Senator Cummins quite arrogantly mentioned bugging in the past.