Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom tacú leis an méid atá ráite ag an Seandóir D'Arcy ar an rún. The Garda Inspectorate report is a major milestone in Irish policing. It calls on the Minister immediately to establish the criminal justice service group to implement the recommendations of the report. It is a comprehensive and devastating critique of the systems within An Garda Síochána. We all acknowledge that many men and women in An Garda Síochána do very good work in very difficult circumstances, but we can also see from the report that there has been a systemic failure.

It also points to issues of particular embarrassment for the Government due to the way the new Garda rosters were implemented, the lack of Garda vehicles and the loss of trained gardaí to administration duties. The spin that has been put forward by the Government over the last number of years does not have substance, so we must have a full debate on this report before the Christmas break. I hope it is not kicked to touch; it must take place sooner rather than later. We must also discuss the previous report on the fixed charge processing system, which is also important.

We have called for a debate on domestic violence on many occasions. I believe I have raised the matter at every joint policing committee, JPC, meeting I have attended in Galway. It appears to be the only figure that is increasing each time there is a meeting, but one can see from the report that the figures are probably underestimated, along with the capacity of the gardaí to deal with the situations they face. The Leader said previously that he would be open to arranging such a debate so I hope we can have it soon mar is cúis an-mhór imní é. It is a particular concern when one sees organisations such as Domestic Violence Response, DVR, in Connemara having their budgets cut again. That organisation's helpline will be curtailed as a result of the cutbacks to its funding, so it is an important issue.