Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise a matter concerning the student gardaí in Templemore. Approximately 300 gardaí have undertaken their training of 104 weeks in total with 32 weeks in Templemore. I am alarmed as I am dealing with a couple of cases at the moment in which the Department of Social Protection is refusing these trainee gardaí the family income supplement, FIS. I believe the Department is in breach of three very clear statutory instruments that are long standing. The chief superintendent of the college in Templemore has also been assisting trainee guards who are now employed by the Department of Justice and Equality, are paying tax and USC and are earning €182 per week gross during their training.

Many of these gardaí genuinely cannot afford to feed their families because of the stance the Department of Social Protection is taking. The Department's answer is that "student gardaí are full-time students doing a B.A. in advanced policing and are not employees". The FIS section has put that in bold in its response to me. This is the fourth time I have written to them. However, according to the Department of Justice and Equality, these gardaí are employees of the Department of Justice and Equality and are completing their training to become fully-attested gardaí.

I know the Leader of the House is very familiar with this. It is not an acceptable situation. I have been corresponding with the Department for the guts of eight or ten weeks and have gotten nowhere and am asking for the Leader's assistance and that of other colleagues, particularly on the Government side, in raising this matter with the Minister for Social Protection. It is a small number of gardaí. I have spoken to one garda with three young kids. The bank has given him a mortgage holiday for the period of his training. People are making a lot of sacrifice to become gardaí and are certainly not doing it for financial gain. I would have thought the State should give them some support. This is an anomaly and the FIS section within the Department is taking a very hard line on it. I ask the Leader's assisance in raising the matter with the Minister and getting it resolved quickly.

As regards the Fennelly report and investigation into the resignation or retirement of the former Garda Commissioner, the cloak of the Bailey case has now been disposed of so there should be no impediment to the Taoiseach informing us as to whether he was recalled by Fennelly to answer queries about the original evidence he gave to the investigation. I still do not understand why the Taoiseach will not himself now make a clear statement as to his role that evening and what he asked the former Secretary General to say to the former Garda Commissioner. Did he overstep his own statutory powers by directing the former Commissioner of An Garda Síochána to effectively resign? These are very serious issues and there is no reason the Taoiseach cannot answer these questions. I know he does not want the report published before the general election and is just trying to kick it down the road. I and my colleagues in Fianna Fáil find it completely unacceptable. It would be appropriate for the Taoiseach to make a statement on this matter and to clear it up. In that regard, I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that the Taoiseach would come to the House, make a statement and clarify whether he was recalled by Mr. Justice Nial Fennelly to answer queries on the original evidence and outline what he said to the Secretary General and the message he asked the Secretary General to relay to the former Garda Commissioner. There is no legal impediment on the Taoiseach in addressing these matters. All he is trying to do is hide behind this investigation.