Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. Like Senator Clifford-Lee, I believe questions are to be asked. I appreciate that the Minister is putting a good gloss on what happened and that it has been a tough week for him. There is no doubt that Assistant Commissioner Leahy's statement went out and the reaction from the public was one of dismay. There was a reaction among many gardaí, who were worried about anticipated earnings in December - whether they are paid in December or January - being seriously diminished.

The Taoiseach said words to the same effect as what I will say about this. It is not rocket science to divide the overtime budget into 12 monthly pieces. It is not rocket science to keep that monthly budget. It should not be the case that one would arrive at the beginning of December in a position where an assistant commissioner would be under the impression - I presume because he was told as much - that the entire Garda overtime budget had been exhausted. I fully appreciate the points made by the Minister and the Taoiseach that overtime expenditure in the Garda Síochána is an integral part of proper policing. I accept the proposition that it is not an indication of a deficient force that there is significant overtime expenditure. When we are examining how the Garda is managed, this kind of mess should not arise.

I know the Supplementary Estimate for public services is to be moved shortly in the Dáil. When did the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform give sanction for that to be done?Did anybody think it might not be done?

I fully appreciate that the enhanced rate of recruitment to An Garda Síochána over the next three years at the rate of 800 per year is necessary to bring the strength of the force up to 15,000 and provide for anticipated retirements. I also welcome the progress being made in respect of civilianisation because one of my biggest disappointments after I left the office of Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform was the slowdown in civilianisation and the poor progress made in that regard.

The Minister mentioned the Garda Reserve. It was established with some difficulty and in the face of a considerable degree of hostility. I regret to inform the House that a very considerable number of reservists are deeply disillusioned by how they are being treated. They are being neglected, marginalised and left to feel stupid for turning up to assist. That is totally wrong. I led members of the Irish media to Chester in England when the Garda Reserve was being proposed and introduced them to reservists there. I remember in particular a woman who was an intensive care nurse, which is a busy job, as well as a reservist. Her commitment to her voluntary assistance to the police impressed us all, particularly the journalists who travelled with our party. The Garda Representative Association, GRA, must be told in no uncertain terms that there should be no boycotting, neglecting, bullying or marginalising of reservists. They are there to help and are not a threat to anybody's earnings, as the Minister's figures show.

Reservists are the means for the Garda Síochána to have local roots. The Minister will appreciate, perhaps more so than a Dublin Senator such as myself, that it is highly disturbing for those in rural communities to be policed by people who live 70, 80 or 90 miles away, commute to work each day, drive around the locality in squad cars and seem to have no local roots. That is almost inevitable in the modern world because the idea of gardaí living above the station is more or less dead, with the exception of Riverstown in Sligo and a few other places. However, if gardaí are to exercise their functions 60, 70 or 80 miles from home, there needs to be a counter-balance in terms of local roots for An Garda Síochána and the best thing to do in that regard would be to increase the size of the Reserve. It is not solely a matter for rural Ireland, as there are places in Dublin that need reservists. There are communities in Dublin in which it would be a great benefit to the community and to the image of An Garda Síochána within that community were reservists to be recruited.

I strongly believe that 2,000 is not enough and there should be 4,000. Garda management should be encouraged to improve the lot of reservists to make them feel appreciated, that their voluntary service has a purpose, and to end the feeling of despair among some, which I am sorry to say I have received letters detailing, that they have chosen to go through a period of training and the end result is that they have been left twiddling their thumbs in Garda stations, wondering why they are there at all.