Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State back to the Chamber. In her absence, I thank the Minister for making herself available for the vast majority of the debate. I also thank all my colleagues who contributed, in one way or another, to the debate. Unfortunately, Senator Lombard is no longer with us, but he raised several issues concerning the defence portfolio and lack of investment, etc. I have a suggestion. I hope he will attend the meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party this evening because a few other people attending it may be able to address and answer some of the issues he raised during this debate.

On a more serious note, though, and I am sure I speak on behalf of all of the Members present, I commend the men and women of An Garda Síochána who, as many of them mentioned, go out daily to protect us. They are the thin, blue line between peace and anarchy and we should never forget this. Every day they put on their uniform, they do not know what incident or task will confront them during their tour of duty. I know all Members fully acknowledge and accept this.

Recruitment was raised. To be fair to the Minister, she has only been in this portfolio for the past three years or so and she is definitely doing her best. Many facts and figures have been thrown out during the debate, but according to the assistant general secretary of the GRA, there are 850 fewer gardaí today than there were three years ago. When we consider how the population is increasing, there is no doubt that the pace of recruitment will have to speed up to address issues concerning An Garda Síochána itself. It is all very fine seeing people coming in the door, and this is very much welcome, but if there is a problem with people going out the exit door before they are due to go out, then this highlights another problem.

Retention is a major issue within An Garda Síochána, as it is across many sectors. We would be very foolish to ignore the fact that during the first five months of this year, 59 members resigned from the force before their time. If this trend continues, this figure will end up at approximately 144 before the end of the year. We cannot, therefore, ignore statistics like this one. I do not doubt that everybody is doing their best to address the situation, but there are issues in this regard. Senator McDowell mentioned that An Garda Síochána needs reform. There is no issue concerning this need for reform. Everyone accepts it, including, I am sure, the vast majority of the members of An Garda Síochána.

The crux of the situation we find ourselves in, and the critical juncture we are at now, is that the 11,000 members that make up the rank and file of An Garda Síochána have serious issues with Garda management. We simply cannot ignore this fact. We can have all the policing plans we want, and they are all well and dandy, but unless we have the men and women of An Garda Síochána implementing these plans, we will have a serious problem and we will not be able to leave the starting line. This is why I called earlier for the Minister to intervene in the dispute between the GRA and the Garda Commissioner. Nobody is personalising this at all, but it would be foolish of us to ignore what is going on. We are in a very dangerous and unprecedented situation in respect of where An Garda Síochána finds itself. In my opinion, and if one talks to members of the Garda, this is not simply down to rosters. There are many other issues out there as well which have, in their opinion, led them to the stance they have taken.

I have confidence in this regard, though, if the Minister was to get involved and invite all parties around the table. These are all reasonable people and I am sure a solution will be found to the impasse we find ourselves in. As I said earlier, it is unprecedented that 99% of those balloted seem to have a problem with the management. The political classes that make up the Members of both Houses of the Oireachtas would be very foolish to ignore what this ballot is telling us. I thank the Minister of State for his presence. I also ask him to use his good offices to try to encourage the Minister in this regard. I am not personalising this issue and not criticising her because she is doing her best, but it is time now, given where we are, for her to intervene with a view to trying to find a resolution to this problem.