Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber to discuss this serious and important issue for the people of Limerick. I have been taking about this specific matter for seven years. He is the third Minister for Justice I have raised this issue with. In fact, I had the opportunity to meet with and engage specifically on this matter with one of his predecessors. This issue first came to light in March 2018 when the beautifully designed and appointed new courthouse on Mulgrave Street, Limerick was opened. It was a very welcome investment for us in Limerick city. It provides six extra courthouses. It has vulnerable witness rooms and it has amazing facilities that we really need in Limerick. It has the capacity to hold the Circuit and District Courts. The Central Criminal Court has sat there and I believe that High Court sat in Limerick for the prestigious opening of this new courthouse in March 2018. A few months later, the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland was published. That was a milestone document. It made recommendations on security, safety, enhanced community care, the overall future of policing and where the force is going.

One of the most important recommendations it made was on the removal of gardaí, where appropriate, from non-core policing duties allowing us to free up our precious limited resource and get them back to the important core policing duties that we all need and rely on them to do. It is a critical recommendation, and it is the foundation for the onboarding of more civilian employees in to the Garda. It is a cornerstone in this day and age when recruitment in any sector is challenging. It is a cornerstone to ensure that we are maximising the use of our precious Garda resources. We are in a wonderful position in this country. During the general election campaign, at the majority of the doors that I knocked on people were asking for more gardaí. In the main, there is a great degree of trust in the gardaí. They are very engaged in the community. They are respected and their presence is seen as an enhancement to security by most people in my community. This is why it is critical that I raise the matter of the 16 gardaí seconded from Henry Street station in Limerick who are on security duty in the new modern courthouse in Mulgrave Street. At the same time, equivalent security duties are being carried out by private security firms in courthouses in Dublin. I welcome private security firms carrying out those tasks, where appropriate, in Dublin. This is what we want to see happening. However, I am asking the Minister - the third Minister of Justice that I have unfortunately had to ask this question of, to please consider releasing gardaí from those non-core policing activities at Mulgrave Street courthouse and give them back to the community for use in front-line policing measures where they are desperately wanted and needed in Limerick.