Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the House for facilitating the debate this morning. The purpose of the first amendment is to impose a statutory timeline on the Garda Commissioner for the provision by the Commissioner to the authority of the Garda strategy statement. Essentially, once we set up the new policing authority on 1 January, the Commissioner will be obliged to present the strategy statement to the authority within six months and then every three years thereafter. It is really to get the authority up and running and to have the strategy statement presented to it within six months. That is quite demanding, and rightly so, on the Commissioner in terms of having a discussion on the new strategy statement with the new Garda authority.