Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Regarding oversight of the functions but also performance, the Commissioner is accountable to the board. When it comes to issues further down in An Garda Síochána, they are accountable to the Garda Commissioner, but the Commissioner is accountable to the Minister, to the authority and, of course, to the Oireachtas. I am sure we will speak to sections 72 and 73, which outline the ability for the Oireachtas to govern when it comes to overall expenditure.

Of course the Government has the ability to top up resourcing throughout the year. We saw that with the €10 million in additional funding allocated for Dublin policing but also more recently with the riots and the requirement for the Commissioner to be able to respond and essentially buy more equipment. There is a flexibility to be able to respond to issues as they arrive outside what might have been set in the plan earlier on or even in the budget overall.