Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for attending. In recent times, one of the most consistent problems that we have been told of is the lack of Garda manpower. To its credit, the Government has reopened Templemore and garda training is ongoing, but we are running to stand still, that is, to keep the number of gardaí at 13,000. It would make sense for retiring gardaí to be kept on on a part-time basis as community gardaí as a cost-effective way of policing communities. Often, retiring gardaí are young compared with the average age of retirement and could augment our community policing structures, giving us the benefit of their expertise while improving the perception of community policing on our streets and making people feel safer.

There is no question of a perception of there being fewer gardaí on our streets. It is certainly something that I hear about in Dublin. I have noticed it. This would be a great way to balance that perception through tangible examples of gardaí on the beat in their communities. Even if just 500 retiring gardaí - one or two per station - were employed on a part-time basis, it would cost between €7 million and €15 million per annum. The money would be well spent and have a useful effect. I would be interested to know the Minister of State's thoughts on this suggestion in light of the number of low-cost measures that have been implemented, for example, the successful text alert scheme. If this proposal were implemented, it could have a positive impact on urban and rural communities.