Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister back to the House. I thank him again for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit County Monaghan last Monday to lend his support to the crew that is digging for the remains of young Columba McVeigh. The McVeigh family were also present last Monday as they continue on their heart-breaking journey to try to locate the remains of their beloved Columba. It was difficult to reconcile the beauty of the day, with the sun shining high in the sky, and the beauty of Bragan Mountain with the activity taking place as people dug for the remains of a 19-year-old who was brutally murdered back in 1974. I use this opportunity to again appeal, as the Minister did last Monday, to anyone who has any information whatsoever, however insignificant they may feel it is, to please come forward in the knowledge that information given will not go anywhere else and there is no risk of any prosecution resulting therefrom, so that the McVeigh family's nightmare will finally come to an end and they have the opportunity to lay the remains of young Columba with those of his parents. It was his mother's dying wish that the family would strive as long as they were alive to ensure the remains are found. Please God, that will be the outcome. We hope the current search will be successful and the McVeigh family will have their wish. As the Minister said last Monday, it is very rare that people would look forward to a wake or a funeral but as one of Columba's sisters said on Monday, that is exactly what they are looking forward to. I wish them well and I personally thank the Minister in that regard.

To address the matter before us, I pay tribute to my colleague, Senator McDowell, who was the brains behind this initiative a number of years ago. It certainly had merit then and one would argue that it has even more merit today. From a Fianna Fáil point of view, we are strongly in favour of the Garda Reserve. Like others, we believe it has serious potential. It is disappointing the reserve has not been the success Senator McDowell, as the then Minister, hoped it would be. Unfortunately, as the Senator outlined, the figures speak for themselves. In 2014, there were 1,143 reservists, with 54 people in training. Seven years on, in 2021, that figure had tumbled to 372 members. Clearly, there is a serious problem and some Members have already outlined what they believe it to be.

I welcome that a recruitment campaign will get under way in the third quarter of the year, which is now only a number of months away. It is important that we take this opportunity to reflect on what exactly has gone on wrong with the Garda Reserve. I wonder if such an audit has taken place under a couple of headings. It should try to explain why numbers have plummeted and whether the Garda Reserve has been value for money. The figures clearly indicate that we have a serious problem.

Another question springs to my mind. I understand from inquiries I made in anticipation of this debate that the majority of people who signed up for the Garda Reserve were in full-time employment. Perhaps Senator McDowell will be able to clarify that. Questions have been asked about whether the working time directive covers someone who wants to volunteer to be a reserve garda. I would certainly welcome the Minister's comments on that.

As Senator Ward outlined, the whole concept is crime prevention. The more gardaí we have on the streets, the better. If we can supplement the number of gardaí with reserve gardaí, it will be a win-win for everybody. We are deeply indebted to those who volunteer for this role and freely give their time for the benefit of the State and the safety of the individuals who live in it.

I very much welcome this debate. I thank Senator McDowell who has voiced concerns about the Garda Reserve numerous times in this Chamber. Before we go headlong into a recruitment campaign, we need to press the pause button for a second to make sure there is a full review of the history of the Garda Reserve, from its inception to the present day, to find out where the problems are and why the numbers have plummeted to the degree they have. From gardaí I have spoken to, the reserve is certainly bedding in well. There are pluses but we need to ensure that when we look for additional people to join by way of a recruitment campaign at the end of year we know where it has fallen down to date.