Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus an mBille chomh maith. The Minister has gone through some of the extensive details. This is not a small Bill, although I recognise that it is largely technical. I congratulate the Minister on introducing it because she and all Members of this House want as effective a police force as we can manage. Where that requires legislative change, it is appropriate that we make those changes in a Bill such as this.

This is a technical Bill. Reading through it, I was astonished to learn how many times the term "Dublin Metropolitan Area" was used even though that structure does not actually exist. It is appropriate and welcome that this be corrected. There are references to much older legislation, for example, the Dublin Police Act, which shows how out of date some of our legislation is. It reminds me of the statute law revision project that is under way within the Office of the Attorney General. Given that offences are still being prosecuted in courts in Dublin under the Dublin Police Act, it is high time that we reformed the area and considered changing those offences or bringing them under the aegis of legislation such as this.

I have stated a number of times that, to the greatest extent possible, we should be moving towards amending older Acts and creating new ones rather than having a raft of legislation that refers to earlier parts, but the breadth of Acts referred to in this Bill is such that I understand why the Bill has been put together in this way.

The organisational structure is largely academic. Given that the report has recommended certain steps, I do not have a difficulty with them. I cannot say with any authority whether they will work, but I accept the Minister's assertion that this Bill is providing an assurance that there will be a continued effectiveness of the Garda at every level under those changes. Setting that aside, the part that jumps out most at me is the drug testing element.It is surprising that there has not been a facility to test gardaí and that should also extend to prison officers. These people, who are particularly vulnerable to manipulation if they are engaging in illegal activity relating to drugs, should be in a different category from ordinary citizens. There are obviously difficulties from the point of view of bodily integrity and constitutional rights with the population as a whole. However, if a member of An Garda Síochána who is there to enforce the law on drugs, is engaging in illegal activity, it creates a unique vulnerability for corruption and can create other difficulties for that member. I welcome the provisions in section 30 to provide for the power for drug testing of gardaí. It protects the gardaí, themselves, assuming that they are not engaging in such activity, which is true of the vast majority of gardaí because no aspersions can be cast on them for their behaviour in that regard. I also welcome that provision.

The anti-corruption thread in the Bill is very important. I welcome steps the Commissioner has taken to deal with corruption. Where there is corruption in a police force - we have seen that elsewhere on this island - it is pervasive in the damage it does to society. It erodes confidence in that force and erodes the ability of that force to do its work because if the people do not have confidence in the force and it does not enjoy their support, it cannot function. I welcome all attempts to ensure we have a force that is above reproach in that regard. I hope and think that is true of most members - obviously, it cannot be true of all of them, just as it is not true of every member of any category. I welcome what the Commissioner has done and what this Bill will do to ensure we have the greatest possible protections against corruption in legislation.

I wish to address some particular aspects of the Bill. I know the Minister is introducing this legislation to ensure we have as effective a police force as possible. Not being an expert on the subject, I cannot make a particular statement on the provisions relating to the reorganisation. However, there may be missed opportunities.

For example, section 7 amends section 10 of the Sex Offenders Act. We often speak about the sex offenders register that applies to people convicted of certain offences. There is a view at large that there is in Garda stations a big paper ledger that can be opened and one can go to page 52 and there is the guy who is a sex offender and it is possible to see that the person is on the register. Of course, that does not reflect the reality at all. The sex offenders register is not, in fact, a register in real terms, but a set of obligations placed on a person who is convicted of offences.

One of the gaps that was created in the Sex Offenders Act 2001 was the requirement for a sex offender to notify a Garda district headquarter. It did not have to be the one in which they were living or the one in which they were about to live, for example, if they were changing address. It meant that somebody living in Wexford could in theory notify Letterkenny Garda district headquarters. Maybe that has been fixed but I do not think it has. There might be an opportunity to amend this Bill to correct a small gap in the sex offenders legislation. I would obviously welcome corrections there.

I also welcome the change to section 3 of the Bail Act which makes absolute sense. It can sometimes be unnecessarily difficult if bail conditions specify the station or district within which things must be done.

Many Garda stations are not open 24 hours a day. The Minister will be aware that dealing with stations that are not open 24 hours a day creates a difficulty for people. Reorganising the administrative areas in that way would probably make it administratively simpler for people to do what courts require them to do. Has any consideration been given to Garda stations that are not open 24 hours a day? Has there been any examination of Garda stations that were closed? Stepaside Garda station is probably the most famous station that was reopened. I do not know if there has been any review of the effectiveness of that. In my area the Garda stations at Kill of the Grange and Dalkey were closed. Have we done any assessment of whether that has had an impact on the policing of the local area? Can we reassure people that it has not?

There is much in the Bill and I welcome it. I have not even gone through all the notes I had on it. It will bring about effective and positive change to policing in Ireland. I wish the Minister luck with it and I welcome the Bill.