Seanad debates

Thursday, 10 November 2022

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

 

10:30 am

Photo of Jerry ButtimerJerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Leader, as a matter of urgency, to facilitate a debate with the Minister for Justice on the future of An Garda Síochána and the need for us to support the members of the Garda. One can look at the figures revealed this week, where the number of gardaí retiring or leaving early is the highest in five years. One can also look at the number of people going into Templemore, which is just 90 out of a recruitment batch which is quite a deal smaller than was hoped for. One can then listen to the representative bodies, and in particular, to Brendan O'Connor of the Garda Representative Association, GRA, where he has stated, worryingly, that being a member of An Garda Síochána today is not an attractive career.

Regardless of what one's political ideology is and no matter where we come from, we have been well served by members of An Garda Síochána down through the years and it behoves us as a political class to put in place scaffolding and support to ensure that it is an attractive career in the first instance. Second, we must ensure that men and women will enter the force with pride and safe in the knowledge that they will have a good career. Third, we must ensure that that career will be well looked after in pay and conditions.That is something on which we need to have a debate as well with the Minister. I hope we will have a debate on the future of policing and the role of An Garda Síochána in communities, and that the Government will consider how it can incentivise and attract people to serve in what is a very important role in society.

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