Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the annual service plan. Section 65(3)(d) sets out “the performance targets to be achieved in relation to each of the objectives referred to in paragraph (c)”. It again goes back to the point I made earlier in respect of other evaluations of different parts of the strategic plan but also the security policy. As outlined in a previous section, a strategic plan includes national strategy, policing priorities, policing principles and security priorities.

Section 65(3)(d) concerns performance targets. How would they be evaluated, who would do the evaluation and who is responsible whether or not each of those performance targets is reached? Someone should be made responsible for ensuring the performance targets in those plans are assigned to somebody and if they are then not reached, the person they are assigned to is made responsible. We talked about performance not being measured. This is being measured but it is not specific as to who is responsible for each of those elements.

Section 65(3)(e) is about the capital expenditure proposed by An Garda Síochána. In respect of capital expenditure in a service plan, the issue is who is responsible not only for the capital expenditure but, in the event of an overrun on the budget, who is made responsible for that in terms of the Comptroller and Auditor General? Would the Oireachtas public accounts committee be given the opportunity, as it has on others? It also must be consistent with the directives issued by the Minister under section 37. I have read section 37 and I am not quite clear on what they would be covered under.

I wish to return to the performance targets and whether they will be allocated to people. If people are not allocated the roles and responsibilities, as we have seen in many reports and many targets set out, it becomes nobody’s problem and nobody’s responsibility.