Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, I acknowledge those contributions that wished Noel Murphy the very best of luck. Retirement is probably an unusual word, because he will be moving on to a different phase in his life. I wish him the very best of luck.

We should have a significant debate with the Minister for Justice about the recruitment policy for An Garda Síochána. An Garda Síochána is going through a recruitment process at the moment and the closing date for the current process is 14 April. We need to encourage people to get involved in becoming members of An Garda Síochána. They are a core principle of our society and they are the people we rely on. They are the people we need. We need good people in An Garda Síochána. We all know the need regarding areas where there are no members of the Garda at the moment. We do not have enough gardaí on the street. I could mention places like Durrus. I was there last Monday and they have no garda at the moment. Places like Drinagh in west Cork have no garda at the moment. We need to get a major recruitment campaign going to get people to actually apply for An Garda Síochána. Realistically, that is what we need to do. I realise that 14 April is the initial date that has been put out there. I wish the Minister and the Garda Commissioner the best of luck in getting those recruits on board. We need to ensure that there is another date launched straight away so that we can get the next group of recruits coming in. The core principle of society being supported by the Garda Síochána is based on having gardaí on the street. The Garda Síochána has the money, but it lacks the manpower at the moment. We need to do whatever we can in the Oireachtas to promote recruitment. I suggest that we have a debate with the Minister for Justice about this and how we can promote it.