Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the Minister.

The Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland was set up pursuant to the Good Friday Agreement signed in Belfast in 1998. We are all familiar with the Patten report published by the commission in 1999 which contained 175 recommendations, nine of which related specifically to transfers between the Garda Síochána and the PSNI, with a further recommendation being that the issue of community balance at more senior ranks of the police service be addressed by lateral entry from other police forces. The Patten agreement provides for three levels of personnel exchange: a programme of placements to transfer experience and expertise, including in the area of training; a programme for members of each police service to be seconded, with full police powers,to the other police service for periods not exceeding three years, and that members of each police service be eligible for certain posts in the other police service. I acknowledge the current co-operation between the PSNI and the Garda Síochána on policing matters which was confirmed again yesterday at the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, BIPA, meeting on human trafficking which I attended.

I propose to concentrate on the transfer of personnel between the Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. While the legislation that underpinned the recommendations made in the Patten report is very positive, a number of practical issues arise which I will outline. At the level of short-term exchanges, the Patten programme has proved reasonably successful. This involves 84 gardaí and 75 PSNI officers taking part in what is usually a four week exchange. Garda officers on exchange to the PSNI remain subject to their own police regulations and have no police powers while in Northern Ireland. This clearly is a major disadvantage to officers while serving in another jurisdiction.The same applies to officers from Northern Ireland on exchange to the Republic. Other practical issues arise in relation to insurance cover. I have been told, by way of first-hand anecdotal evidence, that officers who transfer are effectively there as observers, with a view to increasing their personal-professional contacts and their understanding of issues relating to cross-Border criminal activity. While this is good, they are effectively civilian observers. I do not believe this could be classified as anything more than short-term work experience and time out from their own work.
Longer term secondments of up to three years have proved less popular.The PSNI only received one applicationfor a secondment in 2009, while An Garda Síochána received none. The previous Garda Commissioner, Mr. Fachtna Murphy, expressed his regret that the scheme was not working and indicated that he would assist the PSNI in reviewing the process. Sir Hugh Orde was, however, sanguine about the absence of long-term secondments at the time. In 2009 the PSNI decided to review the process rather than go ahead with the secondment. In March 2010 Superintendent Paul Moran became the first and only officer of any rank from either An Garda Síochána or the PSNI to take part in a secondment when he was seconded from An Garda Síochána to the PSNI in Belfast for 18 months.

In this secondment he wore the full uniform, had police powers and was permitted to carry a firearm. He has since returned to An Garda Síochána.

Lateral entry or transfer between forces has proved somewhat harder to arrange, partly because of significant administrative difficulties. For example, the difficulty of transferring pension entitlements - both State and occupational - across an international border has proved to be one of the most significant disincentives for individual officers to participate in long-term movement between the forces.

The last 50:50 recruitment campaign to the PSNI ended in Northern Ireland in 2011. From a small number of applicants from An Garda Síochána, one detective garda was accepted as a detective constable in the PSNI in March 2012. It was necessary for him to resign from An Garda Síochána to transfer to the PSNI and his pension was non-transferable and, therefore, frozen. He had to begin paying into the UK police pension scheme. However, I understand the transfer has been a hugely positive career development and he has been warmly received by colleagues in the PSNI. However, the fact remains that there is a considerable financial disincentive in such a move by members of An Garda Síochána. Any garda who wishes to transfer would also have the added instability of having to reapply for a post in An Garda Síochána when his or her period of service in the PSNI ended. The methodology for re-entry needs to be examined.

Speaking in Seanad Éireann ten years ago, former Senator Maurice Hayes said:

There is no point in laying down the legislation and making a provision if it is not taken up. By and large, people will not take up positions unless they see them as being of some advantage to them, in terms of their career, career development and the rest of it. At the very least, they should not lose money. It is a sensible and general rule that when somebody is seconded, he or she is offered his or her existing terms and conditions. There may also be a relocation allowance and an incentive for those separated from their families [This is the case for the PSNI, but it does not apply in the South].

Unfortunately, these points still ring true today as the position for gardaí who wish to transfer to the PSNI for a period has not changed in so far as they are still at a financial disadvantage and also at a disadvantage when they wish to resume service in the Republic because they must reapply to obtain a post they held previously or apply for a new one altogether.