John Kelly (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome the report of the Garda Inspectorate. While I have not read the document, many of its conclusions will have been well known to many beforehand. I was a member of the policing board in County Roscommon. We were told repeatedly at monthly meetings that crime in the county had declined. It appeared to us that the Garda at senior levels was downplaying the incidence of crime because everyone, including people in my home town, knew it had increased. For this reason, I would welcome a debate on the report.

I hope the Garda Inspectorate's report also deals with the issue of Garda transfers and promotions because it appears to me and many others that unless one is a member of a particular party, one does not have a hope of being transferred or promoted.