Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by my colleague, Senator Daly. I was somewhat surprised that there has not been any comment so far on the publication of a 400-page report on changing policing in Ireland. The media have highlighted aspects of this report. One of the most respected security journalists, Jim Cusack, has referred to it as "the latest and possibly most important independent report on the history of An Garda Síochána" and says that it is a shocking indictment of Garda management. I understand that the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald has welcomed the report and that its author, Mr. Olsen, and the Commissioner, Ms Nóirín O'Sullivan, will attend a special Cabinet meeting next week on justice reform.

Will any opportunity arise for this House to debate the report? It affects both city and country. For example, it has branded the Garda force as creating a two-tier community policing system which benefits Dublin at the expense of rural communities. The figures bear this out. There are currently 540 gardaí assigned to community policing, some 328 of whom work in Dublin with 117 assigned to one division in Dublin alone. The technology employed by the gardaí is, according to the report, 30 years behind the times. It beggars belief that this is happening. A significant number of Garda stations do not even have e-mail availability. Others are still using paper-based systems as distinct from computers.More worryingly, there is no cybercrime unit within the Garda. As a result, investigations into paedophilia and abuse of children through the Internet is four years behind the times. These are shocking statistics. Tribute is paid to rank and file gardaí who it seems are working under the most difficult of circumstances across the country. It is important for this report to be teased out. It is incumbent on the Minister and Government to respond to this in a positive manner and tell us what they will do to improve the technology and efficient running of the Garda Síochána. I am not surprised that morale among rank and file gardaí is at such a low ebb if they have to deal with this sort of thing on a daily basis. It is unacceptable in a modern society.