Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I move:

That Seanad Éireann: ? acknowledges the central role that An Garda Síochána has played in providing security for the State and the people of Ireland since its foundation;
? recognises the vital need for a well resourced, strong Garda force in tackling the evolving threat of criminality in Ireland;
? records the views of the Garda Commissioner that he would not like to see the strength of the force drop below 13,000 members;
? notes the pivotal role that Garda stations play in the fabric of rural Ireland, their central position in the life of the towns and villages they serve and their part in effective, on the ground community policing;
? notes with grave concern the disturbing rise in burglary levels across the country, particularly in commuter belt areas and the impact this has had on the safety and security of the family home across the country;
? observes the disturbing number of illegal dissident actions in the past number of months and the growing threat of dissident terrorist activity;
? further notes the rise in gangland related murders in 2012 and the ongoing threat of gangland violence across the country;
? strongly criticises the draconian closure of 140 Garda stations across the State with over 100 stations that closed on 31 January 2013, particularly in vulnerable rural areas where appalling crimes on isolated elderly homeowners have taken place and in busy urban stations such as Stepaside and Kill O the Grange in Dublin;
? fully opposes the covert reduction in Garda numbers to dangerously low levels through the whittling away of the Garda payroll that jeopardises the effectiveness of the force in protecting Irish citizens;
? vehemently disagrees with the Government?s failure to address the degradation of the Garda vehicle fleet which has an integral part in tackling crime;
? calls on the Minister for Justice and Equality to reopen Templemore to Garda recruitment to ensure the force does not fall to negligent strength; and
? further calls on the Minister to reverse his attack on the physical infrastructure of rural Ireland and stop the closure of Garda stations across the country.

Does the Minister accept that there has been a significant drop in morale in the past 12 months among rank and file gardaí? This is a matter of serious concern. Does he accept that the Garda is under-resourced in respect of modern technology and state-of-the-art equipment? It is even alleged that some of the guns carried by gardaí are outdated. Although the Minister has said he is providing new Garda vehicles, Garda cars are not up to the mark in matching the vehicles being used by the criminals we are all trying to fight. Does he also agree that a significant reason, although not the sole one, that the Garda Representative Association, GRA, and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI, are pulling out of the Croke Park talks is the closure of Garda stations, what has been described as the Minister's abrupt manner towards rank and file gardaí and a lack of faith in his stewardship? It is a very regrettable move. I would prefer if the Garda representative bodies stayed at the talks and it is a matter the Minister could appropriately address tonight.

I have tabled a number of motions in the House because I feel passionately about this issue. I supported the Minister on and welcomed the last six Bills he brought to the House, but the closure of rural Garda stations is a huge concern for me and the area where I live. He has attributed the prime blame to the Garda Commissioner, Mr. Martin Callinan, for the policy of so-called smart policing and the closure of 140 Garda stations nationwide. Obviously, they were not all rural Garda stations. Given that the Minister has ultimate responsibility for dealing with crime, is it not a convenient derogation from the Minister's responsibility to deal with it? If the Commissioner is the driving force, it might be appropriate for the Minister to have a word with him in this regard. In the light of the closure of Stepaside Garda station in the Minister's constituency and the fact that over 2,000 people came out to protest against this last week, will he now reconsider this rather daft and ridiculous policy of closing these Garda stations? He has already conceded in the House that there will be little or no financial saving as a result.

Does the Minister accept that the continued mothballing of the Templemore training college and the reduction in the number of gardaí are a recipe for disaster and that this does not rest easily with rank and file gardaí or the general public? I will give an example of the closure of rural Garda stations. The electoral area I previously represented on the council, the Bantry electoral area, contains the peninsula of Mizen Head which is roughly 35 miles long from Skibbereen to the end, the Sheep's Head Peninsula and the Beara Peninsula. There are two resident gardaí covering these areas. If a garda in the main station in Bantry or Skibbereen answers an emergency call to attend a burglary or stave off some criminal activity, some of these peninsulas are more than an hour's drive away; therefore, this is very regrettable.

As I am aware the Minister has a keen interest in this matter, I am putting my question not to entrap him in any way but to get to the truth. Is he concerned about the lack of progress in the investigation into the appalling and dastardly murder of Garda Donohoe? There are reports that it is known who the people are. The Police Service of Northern Ireland, PSNI, is involved and it is said to be a Border gang, with members from the North and the South. I am concerned at the lack of progress in having some of the people concerned brought in, arrested and charged, if it is known who they are.

There are large areas of rural Ireland, Goleen being an example of one such remote rural area, where not only will there be no Garda station but also there will be no garda living in these areas. There are 27 or 28 gardaí in Bantry Garda station, but 18 of them do not live anywhere near the town. Gone are the days when if a garda was stationed in Bantry or Skibbereen, he or she lived there and worked within the community. The concern I am expressing on behalf of community groups is that where there is a large rural area where no garda lives in it and the Garda station is closed, it is not good enough that a garda who is unknown to the community comes into the area on an à la carte basis.

Is the Minister concerned that there is growing anger and discontent among the general public at the breakdown of law and order in communities? Does it trouble him that the closure of many banks and post offices in rural areas will encourage crime and heighten fear among vulnerable and older communities? There will be a tendency to keep money at home. I tabled a motion on the closure of the AIB branches in Schull and Ballydehob on the Mizen Peninsula. I realise it is not the Minister's area of responsibility, but there appears to be no joined-up thinking. I call on the Government to seriously consider the appointment of a senior Minister with responsibility for community, rural and Gaeltacht affairs, as was the case up to the last general election. That is significant because rural communities believe they have no voice.

I am not being parochial but simply trying to give the Minister a picture of what is happening in rural areas. On the Mizen Peninsula about 14 years ago there was the appalling murder of the beautiful French lady, Sophie Toscan du Plantier. Her family were there last weekend for a service; they come every year. Will the Minister convey my concern and that of the community at the lack of progress in solving that appalling crime? It was a senseless and brutal murder and people are wondering if the file on it has been closed or if it is an ongoing case. It is a matter of concern for many in rural communities that the murder remains unsolved. There were reports and investigations by the Garda into what had gone wrong. Is the Minister concerned that there was bad policing on the part of the Garda in the pursuit of a particular person who is widely accused of committing the crime?

I ask the Minister to reconsider and re-evaluate his policies with regard to the management and resourcing of the Garda Síochána before it is too late and another innocent garda or citizen of the country is murdered.

I have raised many questions for the Minister. I am not speaking in a provocative fashion. In three weeks' time we will enter the third year of this Government. It is not good enough for the Minister to say that the Fianna Fáil-led Government of three years ago planned this or that. We must move on. The Minister is in charge in a new Government. I have attended several rural Lions meetings in the past number of months. I am not saying the previous Government was entirely blameless but there is a new scenario with new developments. Gangland crime has never been so severe in terms of the number of murders committed in the capital and in the vicinity of the capital. Many of them are gangsters who are taken out but very few successful prosecutions have been taken in respect of these crimes. In responding, I hope the Minister will acknowledge the good faith of Members on this side. I am deeply concerned and I have a deep passion for rural Ireland. It worries me if there is a disintegration of the fabric of society in which I grew up and continue to live. I hope the Minister will take my questions and concerns in the good faith I intend to portray.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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I second the motion proposed by Senator O'Donovan on behalf of the Fianna Fáil Senators. I welcome the Minister and thank him for taking this debate. My colleague has covered a number of items in detail. Nearly 12 months ago, I took part in an Adjournment debate with the Minister relating to Malahide Garda station. This was in the first round of closure and downgrading. The Minister stated at the time that the move was not taken for financial reasons. He said the savings from downgrading and closure of stations would be negligible. At the time I raised the examples of Malahide and Rush. Since then, the Minister stated that the downgrading of stations - the early closure of stations - was to free up Garda resources on the beat. That has not happened at any Garda station I have been involved in. I will give the specific example of my Garda station in Malahide. The station closes at night but firearms, uniforms and items of evidence are held in the station. The station does not have an alarm and the superintendent believes the station should be manned, even though the phones are not answered and calls are diverted to Coolock. Gardaí in Coolock must phone gardaí on the beat in Malahide and inform them of what is happening. I use this as an example because it is happening in many Garda stations in urban and rural Ireland. One cannot leave a Garda station unattended if it is a part-time station. It does not free up resources. I refer to it as a downgrade because it is a diminution of its status. In the period since the Minister downgraded that station and others, we have lost 40% of our Garda vehicles. The number of vehicles has decreased from five to three. Three years ago, some 44 gardaí operated in the station, now there are 32. We had five sergeants and we now have two. The Minister said prisoners would not be transferred from part-time stations to other Garda stations but they are being transferred. The Garda car in a particular town is being taken off patrol and is going to the full-time station to transfer prisoners. I attend joint policing committee meetings in my area and senior members of the Garda Síochána inform me that this practice is losing them up to two hours. Over 12 months ago, I mentioned valid reasons this should not happen. It is not an improvement for operational reasons.

I also made reference to a rural Garda station in my constituency, Rush, which was a part-time station but it has now been closed. Since the closure, four armed robberies of local businesses have taken place and there was an attempted arson attack on the church, St. Maur's, two weeks ago.

Perception can be reality and the reality is that people in many areas across the country feel extremely vulnerable. Residents groups are meeting me and are setting up text alert systems so that they can text their neighbours if they see something happening or hear of a burglary in the area. Neighbourhood Watch committees have been set up, which I welcome, but I do not welcome the fact that they are set up on the basis that our citizens, who deserve policing, feel they cannot be policed properly. That is not the fault of the Garda Síochána. Last week, I put on record my deepest sympathies to the family of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe and his colleagues and friends. As part of that contribution, I made it clear that nothing I was saying called into question the Garda Síochána. It is operating at a difficult time, with crime on the increase regardless of what figures are put out there. Garda Síochána resources are being badly stretched. Many Garda units in stations are made up of one garda.

In order to be constructive, I ask the Minister to re-examine the re-opening of Templemore for training. We will have a two-year vacuum before new recruits come onto the scene. I raised this matter before the closing of Templemore. I have experience of the Garda reserve, which does a fantastic job working with full-time gardaí. Its members, who have been trained, should not have to go through the same training to be commissioned as full-time gardaí. The Minister should decide to re-open recruitment to the Garda Síochána and, if he does so, he should look to the Garda Reserve first so that he can fast-track new gardaí on the street.

I would not expect the Minister to be aware that, yesterday on the Order of Business, I mentioned an allegation made at the Dublin north inner city joint policing committee meeting of 10 December, that a directive went from the Department of Justice and Equality to the Courts Service to the effect that alternatives to custodial sentences should be actively considered in the case of burglaries. A letter was sent from the joint policing committee saying that it strongly objected to the suggestion. I would like the Minister to clear up that matter in his contribution. Burglary is a crime and while it may not be a crime on the person in every case, we must consider the after-effect on families whose homes have been violated and whose property has been stolen or destroyed. I hope the suggestion is not true and I ask the Minister to comment.

Regardless of party, we all support the Garda Síochána 100%. We need a Minister in the Department to show the requisite support and respect for gardaí. Morale is at its lowest. There is an active campaign on social media to restart Garda recruitment. I am sure the Minister's officials have seen comments on the campaign, some of which are fair and some of which are not fair. This is a massive issue in every area, urban and rural, because people's safety is paramount. I refer in particular to the areas where the Minister has closed 130 Garda stations since he took over. I also refer to the areas where the Minister has downgraded the status of stations. When I raised this matter, the Minister promised me an improvement in operations and in the number of gardaí on the beat. That has not happened and it is not working. The Minister should go back to the drawing board, re-open Templemore for new recruits and put more gardaí on the street.

Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)
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I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after ??That??, and substitute the following:??? acknowledges the vital role of An Garda Síochána in providing security to the State and protection to the public;
? acknowledges the investment of ¤4m in the Garda fleet in 2012 which provided for the purchase of a total of 213 vehicles and the additional allocation of a dedicated ¤5m for the purchase of new Garda vehicles in 2013;
? recognises in particular the value of the recent significant reforms in An Garda Síochána in making more efficient use of resources and delivering a more effective policing service;
? recognises the importance of ensuring the continued capacity of An Garda Síochána to combat crime effectively and welcomes the Government?s commitment to maintain resources at the highest possible level;
? recognises the continued success of An Garda Síochána in tackling crime, reflected in the downward trend in most categories of crime;
? welcomes the continued impact Operation Fiacla is having in tackling burglary around the country, with the arrest of 3,538 persons and 1,924 persons charged between April and December 2012;
? supports in particular the measures being taken by An Garda Síochána to tackle organised and gangland crime, including extensive drug seizures and associated arrests, as well as ongoing operations to disrupt and prosecute criminal terrorists;
and
? resolves to continue to support An Garda Síochána in the prevention and detection of crime and the bringing of criminals to justice.??.

Do my colleagues in opposition remember the state of this country two short years ago? I ask them lest they forget. The Government was collapsing and Ministers were resigning every second day. We did not know how long the Government or State would survive. Do my colleagues remember the state of the public finances? Do they remember when we did not know whether we could pay our gardaí? It was not a question of how many gardaí we should have. We did not know whether we could pay nurses and teachers.

We must be fair and put on the record that every decision the current Government is making has hanging over it the profound economic distress in which we still find ourselves. I hope that tonight we will see some light at the end of the long tunnel of darkness. However, let us not forget where we have come from. Thankfully, our State has survived as a result of the careful management of the Administration over the past two years. It is important to remember this. We must, therefore, take parts of the motion tabled by our friends in Fianna Fáil with a grain of salt. The party seems to want to rewrite history, if not write it out entirely. I am not one of those who always want to harp on about who did what, but we must be realistic. If the current Administration did not face the existing financial constraints, it would be possible for every Minister to proceed differently but we must live in the real economic world, in which we must realise there is still considerable economic mismanagement to correct. Until such time as that phase of correction is over, every Ministers' hands will be somewhat tied. Let us not forget that.

Consider the second amendment, tabled by colleagues in Sinn Féin. It notes the role of the Garda in providing security to the State and its people since its foundation. I welcome that new language from Sinn Féin but we should not forget that, until recent years, that party did not even recognise the State. With regret, I contend it showed scant regard for the Garda, the force of law and order. Recent conversions to democracy in support of the Garda must be taken with a grain of salt. I look forward to Sinn Féin co-operating to a much greater level with the forces of law and order on this island in years to come. That will be important. I welcome the journey Sinn Féin has travelled but take some of its sentiments rather lightly.

We all recognise that the gardaí have concerns, worries and questions. I look forward to some of the answers that the Minister will be able to provide tonight. It is important to recognise that rural communities want a policing service. We must tease out how that service can best be provided.

Society has changed, as has technology. Whether we like that or not, the day has long since passed when every village and small town had a Garda station. Some 25 or 30 years ago, we saw the first step in the change. Garda stations still existed in the towns and villages, but gardaí no longer lived in them, as had been the case previously. This change was followed by the closure of some of the Garda stations, which is now occurring again. A significant responsibility among the Minister's many responsibilities is to ensure that a suitable and significant policing service will be available throughout the country, including in towns, townlands and large and small cities.

It would be great if we could have a Garda station at every crossroads but that is simply not possible. Therefore, it is a question of how we use resources to ensure the service is sufficient. The Minister has expressed the view that the service will now be much more mobile. Instead of being almost locked in a Garda station, gardaí will be more mobile. They will be able to get out to the towns, villages and townlands much more regularly and at greater speed. I look forward to the Minister's comments on that.

Considerable desk work is still being done in Garda stations by gardaí whom we would be happier to see out on the streets and in the communities. This needs to be considered. Will the Minister update us on the Garda Reserve? This was an idea of the previous Government. It seemed good but I am not sure how well it has worked. Perhaps a little tweaking is required. There is no need for members of my party, in particular, to express our support for the Garda Síochána. Since the party founded the Garda, it will always stand by it. However, we need to send out a strong signal that the required resources will be provided and that the necessary changes to management structures, which may be required occasionally, will be made. Fearful residents of rural communities, particularly isolated ones, ought to be reassured by the new policing methods and by having a more visible Garda presence on the streets, highways and byways rather than simply having gardaí parked at a Garda station. I look forward to the Minister's comments. I am absolutely certain of his commitment to the Garda.

I express my sympathy with the family and colleagues of murdered Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe. His colleagues have played a huge role in maintaining the security of the State.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Tá áthas orm a bheith in ann labhairt ar an rún seo mar tá an t-ábhar seo i mbéal an phobail agus thar a bheith tábhachtach.

The closure of Garda stations and the reductions in time are causing considerable concern from Mizen Head to Malin Head, and from Connemara to Stepaside. I raised this issue in the House only a week or two ago in response to the Private Members' motion tabled by the Labour Party. We saw some 100 Garda stations closed at the end of last month, on 31 January. This is a crushing blow to rural areas, and I do not believe that the Minister truly understands the effect it will have, not only on community safety but also on the community spirit and people's sense of security and safety in rural communities. I made the point the week before last that the local garda is a key focal point and plays a significant role as a community resource and point of contact. The cuts weaken the social fabric in the affected communities.

We are to move an amendment to the motion because, while it is correct in what it says, the proposers have neglected to recognise that this is a process which began under a Fianna Fáil Government, although it has certainly escalated substantially under the current Minister. As the amendment states, there was a commitment in the 2010 national recovery plan agreed between the Fianna Fáil-Green Party coalition and the troika to cut the number of gardaí from 14,500 that year to 13,500 the following year, and to 13,000 in 2014, representing a total reduction of 10%. There were also substantial reductions in closing times and closures of Garda stations in that time.

In the 2008 report produced by my party colleague Deputy Pearse Doherty, Awakening the West, it was highlighted that, by November 2008, in almost half of all the Garda stations in Cork, Kerry, Clare, Galway and Roscommon the complement had been reduced to one garda operating on a part-time basis. In many of those cases, Garda stations were closed on Sundays, and opening hours during the week were limited to the period between 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

It is remarkable that the call to reopen Templemore, correct though it may be, comes from the party under whose watch in 2010 the college had no students for the first time. The Garda Representative Association president, Mr. Michael O'Boyce, claimed that the force was on the brink of disaster, as so many experienced gardaí were being lost to it and no new blood was coming in.

The reality is that the State has by and large failed to take rural policing seriously. It requires a different approach and thinking than applies to the policing of urban areas. There is a very obvious value to the local garda and rural Garda stations in the prevention of crime. That is very apparent to me, and the Minister's approach of simply using PULSE crime figures seems blunt and very unwieldy.

There is increasing evidence that police station closures can lead to an increase in crime. In England, where rural police services have seen similar cutbacks, crime figures have surged. Violent crime rose by 119% in country areas between 1988 and 1989 and 2006 and 2007 compared with a national increase of 108%.

Many crimes in rural areas go unreported. This is not as it should be but it is the reality.

In addition, many crimes in rural areas go unreported. This is not as it should be but it is the reality. According to an IFA survey, more than 10% of farmers have been victims of crime, which is quite considerable.

The Minister claimed the Garda station network was established at a time when gardaí travelled on bicycles but as my colleague, Deputy Colreavy, noted in the Dáil last week, criminals have also moved with the times and they do not travel on bicycles either. They are as mobile as the gardaí, if not more so. They are also clinical and calculating. One can be sure that many of them have examined the list of closed Garda stations, or stations with reduced hours, and are establishing what are the easy targets and what parts of the country will now be hard for gardaí to reach. Remote rural areas, such as those where elderly pensioners have twice been targeted in callous burglaries and assaults, will become the focus of these criminals.

There was an incident in Rossaveal at the weekend when more than 100 youths in cars displayed their rallying expertise along the rural roads of Connemara. A young man was seriously assaulted with a mallet but there were no gardaí to be found. When people asked where the gardaí were during this incident, they were told they were otherwise deployed.

I once again invoke the 2007 Garda Inspectorate report, Policing in Ireland, Looking Forward, which recommended the implementation of "a consistent rural policing model that enhances visibility and makes best use of Garda resources in serving local communities". This has never happened in reality and instead we are simply seeing cutbacks. We will also see certain rural Garda districts being amalgamated into 14 districts as part of an effort to centralise in urban areas the policing of huge swathes of rural Ireland, so clearly there is no desire for a dedicated approach to crime in rural Ireland. Like in so many other areas of Government policy, there is an expectation that it will all be okay and that rural people will either make do or move to the cities. I find that assumption insulting and naive.

The Garda Representative Association, which represents 11,300 rank and file gardaí, has said that most small stations cost ¤3,000 or less per year to run, that they deter crime and that further closures will compromise effective policing. This is a very small amount for what they deliver.

I accept there is the possibility of getting more out of current force and maximising the resources available to us but that should not be achieved by reducing the number of gardaí. It should be achieved by ensuring that the gardaí can spend the bulk of their time on the beat and, as we have noted in our amendment, it is by way of further progressing the civilianisation of administrative services to international standards that gardaí can be freed up to undertake the role they were trained for, namely, to prevent and solve crime. It can also create valuable local employment for civilians.

The Minister's claim that his plans will free up gardaí is undermined by the lack of resources available to the gardaí. We believe that in a rural setting, it is essential that gardaí have sufficient equipment and accommodation which is fit-for-purpose, including secure digital radio, satellite navigation systems, Internet and e-mail access and suitable transportation. In reality, this is often not the case and, in particular, the cars available to the gardaí mean that they are not as mobile as they should be.

I highlighted the slow response times for incidents in Galway last week and while the Minister will point to investments in Garda cars, it is worth noting the high replacement levels for Garda cars and that is barely being exceeded. It is certainly not enough to meet the gap in coverage created by the closure of these stations. The Minister is putting communities at risk by ordering these closures and I very much hope he will reconsider his position in this regard.

Denis Landy (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister and thank him for taking this important debate. I commend all serving and former members of the Garda Síochána. Members of my family served in the Garda Síochána on the front line in the 1980s, when it defended this State against subversives, and put their lives on the line in the defence of the State.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion which was loaded with hypocrisy and opportunism by the party which brought this country to its knees economically and socially. Let us be straight about things - the rot set in before the Minister began the challenge of modernising the Garda force. The national recovery plan, agreed by the Fianna Fáil Administration, signed off on a cut in numbers exceeding the cuts forced on this Government, so to have Fianna Fáil jump up and down and put a motion before this House in regard to cuts would be funny if it was not so serious. Once again Fianna Fáil seems to be hedging its bets that the people of this country have profound memory loss and that its national recovery plan, which covers in detail the reduction in public service numbers, will be forgotten. Let us remember that the document, which details a reduction in Garda numbers from 14,500 in December 2010 to 13,500 in December 2011 with a further reduction to 13,350 to be effected by 31 December 2012, further required reductions by 31 December 2013 to bring the force down to 13,150 and down further to 13,000 by the end of December 2014. Fianna Fáil's plan also stated that there would be ¤25 million in savings from unspecified Garda management efficiencies and a further ¤140 million in savings from overtime, allowances and transport costs.

While I support the call for this debate and agree in some respects that the case for certain stations should be re-examined, Fianna Fáil should look at its position on this issue in the not too distant past. The reality is that this call by Fianna Fáil is more about populist electioneering. It did not seem too concerned about the downgrading of services when it was in the dying days of the last Government and desperately trying to maintain control of that Government.

Admittedly, I was critical last week of how the plan was being rolled out, and I stand over those remarks. I appreciate radical change and reform is a difficult job but in rural areas, the roll-out of this plan could have been managed in a different way with more information given to the public at large. The concern and fear being expressed and experienced by the communities in rural Ireland, including the community in which I live and represent in County Tipperary, is a reality. I do not believe elected representatives are whipping this up for the sake of it or to further their own interests, unlike Fianna Fáil with this motion. We are standing up for communities and I commend everybody on taking that stand.

I acknowledge a well-resourced Garda force plays a vital role in the security of the State and I support the Garda Commissioner, Martin Callinan, in his statement that he would not like to see the numbers in the Garda falling below 13,000. The challenge for the Garda is to maintain the public safety of people in their homes, workplaces, on the streets and in public places while operating in extremely difficult financial conditions in which the previous Fianna Fáil-led Government left us.

The new Garda roster being piloted is aimed at making the gardaí more mobile and flexible to deliver a more effective policing service. I heard the Minister say that of the 100 Garda stations being closed, 98% are open part-time, 94% are open for three hours or less per day, 88% are served by one garda and 5% are served by three or more gardaí. This is true but it does not reflect the security rural Garda stations instil in people's minds that their local garda is available to them. Operation Fiacla and the move to smart policing have yet to percolate down to rural Ireland. The crucial links between the community and the gardaí must be reinforced as a matter of urgency. The relationship the local garda builds up with the local people cannot be measured and has been overlooked or maybe misunderstood.

I commend the Minister on finding funding in the current economic climate to invest ¤4 million in the Garda fleet in 2012, for putting 213 cars on the road and for providing extra officers on the beat and finding an extra ¤5 million for the purchase of new Garda cars in 2013. However, I believe the present Administration's pursuance of modernisation of the Garda Síochána would have been better served by frontloading the upgrade of and increase in fleet numbers in the first instance, prior to the closure of barracks. We should first have made operational the 400 vehicles and put them in the communities as a presence protecting people and putting communities at ease. Those vehicles should have been put in place in rural communities and the new Garda rostering system should have been implemented.

The entire process should have been allowed to bed in and the Government should have revamped the community alert and neighbourhood watch schemes. This would have meant a front-loading of the new system. I was led to believe that the ongoing engagement between the Department of Justice and Equality, Garda management and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform regarding Garda strength and expenditure would ensure that the situation is monitored during 2013. I was also led to believe that the Government will provide the necessary resources during 2013 and in the future.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I wish to share time with Senator Mary White.

Catherine Noone (Fine Gael)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the debate. Obviously the closure of rural Garda stations is a hotly contested and debated issue in County Kerry because so many areas are affected. They stations affected are Ballinskelligs, Valentia Island, Beaufort, Kilgarvan, Lauragh, Brosna, Abbeydorney, Camp and Fenit. While the Government side has articulated that there are nearby Garda stations and its masters of spin have spun the story that the stations can be served by driving a few minutes to other Garda stations, that is not the case. For example, Lauragh is 56 km and Kilgarvan is 32 km from the nearest 24-hour station. We all know that crime has increased, the number of burglaries has increased and the instances of thefts has soared in rural areas. People in Lauragh will not get a Garda response in reasonable time and only if a Garda car can be provided by the nearest station in Killarney. Rural areas like Lauragh will suffer.

The Government has berated the previous Government. We must remember that the Minister said that drug gangs and their leaders would drink a celebratory toast to thank the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern, when previous cuts were made. We know that the troika did not demand the closure of rural Garda stations but asked for cuts and savings wherever the Government saw fit. Therefore, it was the Government that made the decision. When it comes to the safety of people living in rural areas, such as in Kerry, Garda stations are a significant symbol of the Government's presence and protect the citizen.

Mary White (Fianna Fail)
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The Fianna Fáil Party has supported six of the Bills that the Minister has introduced in the Seanad and cannot be accused, as we were earlier, of being opportunistic. If the Government is doing good work then my party will support the Minister. As I have said before, he is one of the hardest working Ministers with responsibility for the justice portfolio that we have ever had in this country. I compliment him on his work, brains and energy.

I shall use my time to talk about two issues. First, in the north west, thugs and criminals can make a quick getaway across the Border after attacking vulnerable people in Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim. The PSNI and the Garda Síochána have not liaised enough when it comes to the Border region. I have raised the matter at a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. Both organisations must work more closely. Why not have simultaneous road blocks on either side of the Border to improve vigilance? Civil servants will probably give me a Civil Service answer by stating that there is great contact between them but I do not believe them. That contact is not up to scratch. If I was in the Minister's shoes I would put the screws on Matt Baggott, the Chief Constable of PSNI, and the Garda Commissioner, Mr. Martin Callinan, to get their act together in an efficient way and to adopt proper management.

I have researched the issue and discovered that Garda management is not up to modern standards. We know that its members are dedicated but, following my research over the past three weeks, I have discovered that we need top class sergeants located in areas who know how to manage the gardaí under their control. I have been led to believe, and people have told me, that there is not proper management in the force, which is a serious issue.

I produced a Fianna Fáil policy paper on quality caring and active ageing and I discovered that social isolation and fear among older people living in rural areas is a real issue. It is sad to think that we have reached the stage in this developed economy where older people must live in fear of being attacked and mugged. Apparently, some people have resorted to leaving money on their kitchen table as a precaution in order that they can give it to a burglar if one enters their home.

Last Sunday I participated in a protest at Stepaside which is in the Minister's constituency. I can show Members a picture of myself and the former assistant Garda commissioner, Mr. Martin Donnellan, Mr. Richard Murphy and Deputy Mattie McGrath attending the protest. I am sure that the Minister got a good report on the protest and the prevailing atmosphere. The people of Stepaside will not give up on the issue. The new suburb has a population of 30,000 but it is also a mixture of people and professions and I spoke about a group earlier. However, the Minister will know as well as I do that the area is inherently rural. I look forward to his explanation for the closure of the Stepaside Garda station. Criminals can make a quick getaway because Stepaside is located beside the M50. The area provides an important fabric of employment and we must protect the people in the region.

I speak on behalf of my colleague, Senator Denis O'Donovan, when I say that we both agree that the Minister has done a good job. Is that not right, Senator?

A Senator:

The Minister has been a very good boy.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I did not hear the comment.

Mary White (Fianna Fail)
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We support the Minister when he does a good job. My party always supports the Minister when he does a good job. There has not been a proper study of the Garda since 1970. I want an independent study carried out on its resources and needs. We have heard that the patrol cars are old. Something is seriously wrong with it.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senators, even those with whom I disagree, for their contributions. Earlier I was here wearing my hat as Minister for Defence but now I am here as the Minister for Justice and Equality which is the first time that I have done so since the very tragic death of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe. I would like to put on the record of the House my revulsion and sadness at his brutal murder. Again I extend my condolences to his family and to all members of the Garda Síochána - the opportunity to have a conversation with his wife, Caroline, and some members of his family following his being put to rest on this day last week. It was a tragedy that should never have happened. It was a very moving and sad funeral for all who attended and he will in our thoughts for a long period.

I do not normally get too annoyed about anything that Senator O'Donovan says because in the cut and thrust of politics, it is important to take things on the chin and get on with it. He raised a couple of issues at the start of his contribution which I think were unfortunate. I am not going to lend credibility to what was written in one particular Sunday newspaper nor will I comment on it and give it the dignity of a commentary. I will not bring a family that has been grievously bereaved into a debate based on a Fianna Fáil motion on the Garda Síochána on which I have a particular view.

I will deal with the motion. It is inappropriate, and I regret the Senator felt the need to raise that issue. I would simply say to the Senator-----

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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If it is untrue the Minister should-----

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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-----that he should be wary of what is written in newspapers. Not everything one reads is necessarily accurate, but I am not going to get into that because what was written was inappropriate. Raising that this evening is inappropriate and does not deserve the dignity of any detailed response.

I was also surprised at something else Senator O'Donovan said which on reflection he may think about and on some other occasion withdraw it or expand on it in some way. I am very conscious it is only a week since Detective Garda Donohoe was laid to rest and he said this evening, and I thought it was an extraordinary piece of criticism, that he was not sure - I am paraphrasing what he said - that everything necessary was being done with regard to the investigation into the barbaric murder that took place. This is not a moment to be criticising an investigation into the callous murder of a member of the force when there are dedicated members of that force, together with the PSNI, devoting all of their energies to identifying those responsible and an evidential trail that will facilitate them being brought to justice. I hope the Senator would withdraw what he said.

I visited Dundalk Garda station and met many of the late Detective Garda's colleagues last Monday week. They were very determined to bring to justice the people responsible. They were people who clearly admired the Detective Garda who had been mercilessly mown down. They were very stressed, and I do not believe we should be criticising them or their colleagues. It is not appropriate to try to raise the issue in what is, to be clear, a debate that is a little bit about the old politics of posturing and party political game playing.

There is a basic hypocrisy, as other Members of the Seanad have said, about tonight's Fianna Fáil motion. Why I am I saying that? One of the many headaches I inherited when I was appointed Minister for Justice and Equality in March 2011 was attempting to unravel the expenditure ceilings for the justice sector which were contained in the Fianna Fáil-led Government's national recovery plan, to which Senator Landy referred. I have a copy of the plan here as a primer for any member of Fianna Fáil who may need to read it. I can hand them the relevant page because I made an additional photocopy of it. If these ceilings had been applied they would have resulted in devastating cuts in Garda services which I, as Minister for Justice and Equality, would not and could not in any circumstances stand over, even in the circumstances of the troika wanting us to effect certain cuts.

The Fianna Fáil national recovery plan was unacceptable and would have put the Garda Commissioner in an impossible position. Fortunately, I was able to secure additional funding over the three year period 2012-2014 to ensure that the Garda Commissioner, and An Garda Síochána, could continue to deliver an effective policing service. I could not do anything about 2011. I inherited the Estimates. They were there when I came into office.

In summary, for the justice sector in 2012 I secured ¤2.243 billion, which was an additional ¤118 million over and above the Fianna Fáil allocation of ¤2.125 billion. For 2013 I secured funding of ¤2.2 billion, which was ¤191 million over and above the Fianna Fáil allocation of ¤2.009 billion, and for 2014 I secured funding of ¤2.065 billion, which was ¤105 million over and above the original Fianna Fáil allocation of ¤1.96 billion. If the Fianna Fáil national recovery plan had been implemented - it was the November 2010 plan, published ten days before the deal was done with the troika and designed to implement the policies of financial reductions the troika was seeking - the effect of that on An Garda Síochána for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 would have on average resulted in their being ¤90 million less available in each of those three years than is available this year, last year and for 2014. The Fianna Fáil finances would have devastated the Garda and rendered it impossible. They were based on funny figures as well because the funny figures set out, and Senators have referred to it, a roadmap for the reduction in the numbers in the Garda force but on the figures, even the numbers it was projected would be retained were unsustainable because the funding would not have been available to pay them. It is as simple as that. That was the legacy Fianna Fáil was happy to bequeath to me as justice Minister.

I do not like engaging in too much of what I would describe as the caricature of the party political toing and froing that goes on because I am conscious that we do very good legislative work in this House but it is very difficult for me to listen to some of the criticisms that were made this evening and the hypocrisy of Fianna Fáil as it attempts to erase its national recovery plan from public memory and engage in extraordinary political revisionism.

This motion is also critical of the reduction in Garda numbers. Once again, the proposers seem to have forgotten their own national recovery plan. That plan details where things were going to go with Garda numbers - this is an extract from it. That plan detailed a reduction in Garda numbers from a strength of 14,500, as has already been said, on 31 December 2010 to 13,500 at the end of 2011. It proposed further reductions to 13,350 by 31 December 2012, 13,150 by 31 December 2013 and then to 13,000 by 31 December 2014. In fact, the number of gardaí in the force today exceeds by approximately 80 the number Fianna Fáil intended to bring about by the end of 2012.

In terms of where the figures were funny, in the context of funny money, if the funding had remained as it was I do not believe I would have had the funding to pay for the numbers who are in the force in 2012 or the numbers we have now in 2013. Apart from the financial figures being a little odd in that context there is one part of this which is common sense because on average approximately 350 members of the Garda retire by way of natural retirement every year, therefore, the projected figure will be down to 13,150 by the end of this year and then to 13,000 by December 2014, but all recruitment was cancelled. Natural retirement would have got us to 2014 below the 13,000 figure. We would have been down to 12,750 or 12,700 members of the force.

The Garda Commissioner has succeeded in maintaining essential front-line policing services by the implementation of important and necessary reforms, including the new Garda rostering system. I also made additional funding available last year, and again in 2013, for the purchase of vehicles for the Garda fleet. Members might be interested to know that no provision of any nature was made for the purchase of Garda cars, and I want to refer to the exact figures because there is a typographical error in the script. There was no provision of any nature made for the purchase of Garda cars in 2009; 2010 is indicated in the script.

There was some provision in 2010. No new cars were purchased in 2009 but 146 were purchased in 2010. When I came into office inheriting an Estimate figure for 2011 we were able to purchase only 52 new vehicles. Some 213 new vehicles were purchased for the Garda in 2012, which is more than the total of 198 purchased between 2009 and 2011. I want to be very clear about those figures. This year I have dedicated funding of ¤5 million which will allow for the purchase of a significant number of new vehicles. It is an increased fund despite the reduction in the funding available to me generally because I was able, with the goodwill and assistance of my good friend and colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, to negotiate additional funding at Estimates time to ensure we could renew the Garda fleet.

The Fianna Fáil motion refers to the reopening of the Garda College at Templemore to Garda recruitment. Recruitment to An Garda Síochána was ended by my predecessor Dermot Ahern. The most recent recruits to enter Templemore did so in 2009 and the last substantial number of recruits graduated in June 2011. No recruitment took place in 2010. In Fianna Fáil's national recovery plan, no reference is made to the recommencement of Garda recruitment. The question of new recruitment is under active consideration and it is an issue that I will address with my Cabinet colleagues during the course of this year, because it is my objective to maintain the Garda force at 13,000. It is worth noting that the college is not closed or mothballed, as some people have suggested. It continues to provide professional development training to Garda members and reserve gardaí. It also provides employment to the local community. On Friday week I will be in Templemore for the graduation of some new members of the Reserve Garda force who have been trained there.

It goes without saying that no Minister would choose to have to operate in this appalling financial position. Notwithstanding this, despite what I said about having additional funds available year on year, I still have less, but not as low as the Fianna Fáil figures went. For example, in 2012 I had ¤100 million less than was available in the preceding year. This year I have ¤62 million less than was available in 2012, but the position is not as drastic as it would have been under the Fianna Fáil national recovery plan. Despite the difficulties I have done everything possible to maintain Garda resources at the highest possible level. A budget of more than ¤1.4 billion is available for the force in 2013 - the major portion of justice funding. By any standards, this is a substantial amount.

I am also very pleased that the provision of three new Garda divisional headquarters for Kevin Street in Dublin, Galway and Wexford was included in the special Government stimulus package announced last July. The projects are to be delivered by means of a public private partnership and discussions are currently taking place between the relevant agencies in light of the Government announcement.

When I entered office there were 703 Garda stations in the Garda station network. The network, essentially, was as designed and inherited by us from colonial times in 1922. Some 39 Garda stations were closed in 2012, eight of which had not been open for a number of years, but no Minister had had the courage to announce that they would never be reopened. A pretence was maintained that some day someone would refurbish them. Their closure was a paper exercise which simply recognised reality, a reality that had been concealed by my immediate predecessors. Many more were only one- or two-member stations. Following a comprehensive assessment by the Garda Commissioner of the Garda station network in 2012, a further 100 were listed for closure in the Commissioner's policing plan for 2013. Ninety-five of these closed last Thursday 31 January, while the remainder will close in the coming months.

The Garda station network was inherited from the Royal Irish Constabulary network in 1922 on the foundation of the State. Such a large-scale static deployment of resources is no longer appropriate in the present day as the transport and communications infrastructure has been transformed beyond recognition. The Garda Síochána has a class-leading police computer system, a state-of-the-art digital radio system, and a transport fleet which is currently receiving significant investment. The new Garda roster currently being piloted provides a better match between Garda availability and policing demand. All of these developments enable the Garda Síochána to be more mobile and flexible and to deliver a more effective policing service.

We need to be honest about the level of policing service that was capable of being provided from the stations listed for closure in 2013. Of the 100 stations on the list, 98% opened part-time, 94% opened for three hours a day or less, 88% were manned by one Garda and only 5% were manned by three or more Garda personnel. Some critics have complained that the station closures will save only small amounts of money, but to do so completely misses the point. The objective is to maximise the time that our well-trained and highly skilled gardaí spend on operational duties. This is about smart policing and the most efficient and effective deployment of Garda resources. I have listened with interest to comments made by at least one retired member of the Garda, an assistant commissioner, who said he did not know what smart policing was. Everyone here knows what a smartphone is. Would they like a smartphone or the old type of phone? Smart policing is very simple. It means there is flexibility about policing policies, with problem areas being targeted as the need arises. It means there are specified targeted operations such as Operation Fiacla, with the Garda force deployed on a mobile basis where necessary, as is the case in dealing with the burglary gangs around the country and where special operations are needed to deal with fuel laundering or drugs. It is not about keeping gardaí in Garda stations doing administrative work and not using their skills and training for crime prevention and crime detection. Smart policing is a term that is well understood throughout Europe, not just in Ireland. It is remarkable that someone who has retired from the force should find it so difficult to understand the concept, but I recognise that some people think we should do things the way we always did them in the past and there is no room for change. Some people find change difficult. We must change to deal with criminals who are changing their methodologies and the manner in which they target communities.

It is the view of the view of the Garda Commissioner that a country the size of Ireland, with a population of 4.5 million, does not need 700 Garda stations in the 21st century. It is nothing less than scaremongering to suggest that reducing that network to 564 Garda stations is a cause for fear and anxiety. Northern Ireland, which has 1.5 million people, has 83 police stations and the objective is to reduce the number to around 50 by 2015. Scotland, with a population of 5.2 million, has 340 police stations. It is not about bricks and mortar but intelligent and targeted police work.

The Garda Commissioner has concluded that a more effective and efficient policing service can be provided by releasing the maximum possible number of gardaí for front-line service in our communities. This is his professional opinion, and it would be entirely wrong for me, as Minister for Justice and Equality, to second-guess his expertise in this matter. I support him. I am not passing the buck as some people have suggested. The last thing we need is a Minister for Justice and Equality who thinks he should make operational decisions for the Garda Síochána when we have a Garda Commissioner who has the required expertise. He is the person who manages the Garda force and is at the centre of the operational decisions that are made.

It is unfortunate and regrettable that some public representatives have been fuelling public fear regarding the impact of the closure of Garda stations. In fact, I am advised by the Garda Commissioner that Garda station closures in 2013 will result in an extra 61,000 Garda patrol hours.

For those who believe the stations provide a deterrent to criminals, the sad fact is that this is not true. Clear evidence of this reality was shown by the appalling events of the robbery of Oldcastle post office on 31 January following the holding captive of two people at their home. Oldcastle post office is adjacent to the Garda station to which, in turn, four Garda members are assigned. The station is scheduled to be open for three hours a day on weekdays and Sundays and two hours on Saturdays, subject to manpower availability. The presence of the station next to the post office was no deterrent to the robbery that took place there. We must move beyond the simplistic notion that Garda stations are a deterrent to serious criminals.

Some have painted the Garda station consolidation process as an attack on rural Ireland. However, the two largest stations listed for closure in 2013 are Stepaside in my constituency of Dublin South and Kill O' the Grange in the Tánaiste's constituency of Dún Laoghaire. In 2012, the three largest Garda stations to be closed were in Dublin - Harcourt Terrace, Whitehall and Dalkey. Let there be no misconception. The objective of modernising and re-calibrating the Garda station network is to ensure that Garda resources are used in the best and most efficient way possible, in both rural and urban areas, to the benefit of all law-abiding people who reside in this State.

Stepaside Garda station is situated three miles from Dundrum Garda station which Senator White mistakenly mentioned earlier.

Mary White (Fianna Fail)
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The gardaí are excellent there.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can drive from my house to Dundrum Garda station in four minutes while it would take me seven minutes to get to Stepaside?s. It is the opinion of the Garda Commissioner that there is no operational benefit to maintaining these two Garda stations in such close proximity. As a constituency representative, there is no doubt that my life would be more comfortable if Stepaside Garda station was not on the list for closure. However, I accept the professional advice of the Garda Commissioner on foot of the operational assessment conducted throughout the country, including in my constituency.

In a different era Ministers could be predicted to block any contentious development in their own constituencies to protect themselves locally from adverse comment and constituency rivals getting people excited and organising protests. However, I believe it is important to make the right decision, not the politically personally advantageous decision. For that reason I reiterate, I will not second-guess the professional advice of the Garda Commissioner.

In the London metropolitan area, which has a population three times that of the entire population of this State, 66 police stations are due to close, leaving 73 police stations open to the public. Is it seriously being suggested that, with the advances we have seen in modern policing, transport and technology, we should act as if time had stood still since 1922? Should we maintain a police network based on what we inherited from the British and which was devised between 1850 and 1900 to keep an eye on the rebellious Irish?

Garda stations come under the control of the Office of Public Works. The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, has confirmed that, if an appropriate community management structure is put in place, the closed stations can be utilised for local community purposes. This can be of considerable benefit to a variety of local voluntary organisations which currently lack appropriate facilities. The Garda Commissioner has stated the revised structures will continue to support the Garda community philosophy through the clustering of services at policing hubs. This centralisation of services will facilitate the introduction of enhanced patrolling arrangements which, in turn, will provide increased Garda visibility, as well as maintaining existing Garda links with communities across the country.

In addition, an Garda Síochána has recently acquired a number of vehicles which are being converted into mobile Garda offices. It is planned they will be assigned to areas where Garda stations have been closed to ensure that members of the public can continue to conduct their business and interact with members of an Garda Síochána. These offices will be in place with the agreement of the community on a particular day to deal with basic policing issues. In addition to the role that all gardaí have to play in community policing, there are more than 1,000 gardaí dedicated to community policing countrywide. Gardaí continue to work closely with all communities to enhance community safety through a wide range of local fora such as Community Alert and Neighbourhood Watch.

It was claimed earlier that some communities are re-establishing Neighbourhood Watch schemes which I would encourage. We need an extension of these schemes. Last Thursday, a new memorandum of understanding was completed between an Garda Síochána and Muintir na Tíre. Community Text is an important pilot scheme. If a member of a community sees something suspicious, he or she can text to a communal text alert which can be shared with neighbours and the Garda. It is simple and inexpensive which community gardaí will help establish. I encourage Members to engage with their communities not to create unnecessary fear, but assist them to set up such schemes. It does not matter how many gardaí we have. They cannot be standing outside every person?s front door.

My Department, along with the Health Service Executive, HSE, has, for many years, supported the work of the Community Alert programme, which was set up in 1985 by Muintir na Tíre in association with the Garda authorities. This programme has since developed into a national movement comprising over 1,300 local groups which work with the Garda to promote crime prevention and improve the security of older and vulnerable persons in the community. Last year, my Department achieved savings which we did not believe we could achieve. Subsequently, we managed to find an additional ¤40,000 to give to this scheme.

An Garda Síochána has risen to the challenges that it faces in the current economic climate. Change is being delivered in co-operation with the members and staff in the Garda Síochána. Without doubt, the single largest transformation project in the Garda Síochána, and arguably in the public service, has been the development and implementation of a new roster system in the force. Not only does the new roster provide a more effective policing service, it also protects the health and welfare of the members of the Garda Síochána. The new Garda roster system ensures that resources are optimally deployed when and where they are required, to every part of the community, both rural and urban. Evidence of the new roster is immediately apparent on our streets as more gardaí are on duty at times of peak demand and fewer during quieter periods. This is essentially what this reform is about - doing things differently but more effectively.

This revised roster was introduced under the provisions of the public service agreement. Every Member will be aware that discussions are under way on revisions to the public service agreement. I am disappointed some organisations have chosen to absent themselves from the discussions on any reductions in allowances and I would hope they will reconsider this decision. The discussions are focused on the unpalatable truth that the public service pay bill must be reduced. I do not wish to pre-empt the outcome of the talks by making any further comment at this time other than to confirm that I am firmly committed to ensuring resources remain at the highest level possible that will enable the Garda Commissioner, his senior management team and all members of An Garda Síochána to continue to deliver an outstanding policing service to the people. I encourage all those who are engaged in this process to remain in dialogue to find a solution to the problems that all of us are facing.

In response to allegations about increased crime levels throughout the country, the crime statistics for the 12 months ending on 30 September 2012 show reductions in 12 of the 14 crime groups. Crimes against the person are down, including homicide offences, down 17.9%, sexual offences, down 0.7%, and assault and related offences, down 9.5%. Public order and damage to property offences are also down, by 12% and 9.3% respectively, as are drug offences, which are down 7.1%, and weapons and explosives offences, which are down 17.4%. Burglaries, however, increased by 7.9% during the period and I will comment on that presently. It is worth noting that the Garda has had a particularly successful year in confiscating drugs. Some ¤100 million worth of drugs were confiscated by the end of December 2012 from those engaged in drug crime.

I am acutely aware of the concerns that exist about the incidence of burglaries and of the corrosive effect that the fear of crime can have on community morale and its impact on elderly and more vulnerable people. Interestingly, the spike in burglaries occurred in 2011 before one Garda station had been closed. In response to the increase in the number of burglaries, Operation Fiacla was set up by the Garda Commissioner in the spring of 2012 and is particularly focused on identifying and targeting mobile gangs involved in burglaries throughout the country. Operation Fiacla has been and continues to be remarkably effective. In the period from the beginning of April 2012 to the end of January 2013 it resulted in 3,903 persons being arrested and 2,142 persons being charged with offences. In addition, the latest quarterly figures for burglary suggest that Operation Fiacla is having an impact when compared with the quarterly figures prior to its introduction.

These figures, taken with the robust response of the Garda in tackling gangland crime and the activities of paramilitary organisations, are clear evidence that while the Garda cannot avoid the economic realities it has been more than able to continue to respond effectively to crime. The most recent crime figures show that the number of aggravated burglaries is down when compared with the previous 12 months. I realise that is of no solace to some individuals who have been the victims of brutal and violent burglaries in recent weeks. The sad reality is that no matter what the policing methods and no matter how successful the Garda may be in bringing people to justice, we have always had and we will continue to have bad people, who have no respect for individuals, human rights, people's property or the privacy of their homes and who will be intent on burglary. Unfortunately some of these people have no compunction about using violence.

I assure the House that An Garda Síochána is taking all available measures to respond to this type of crime, especially in the case of what has happened in Oldcastle and the other shocking incidents which we have seen recently. I share the widespread outrage at gang-related criminal activity. The brutal nature of these crimes is a stark reminder to us of the mentality of those involved in organised criminality and the danger that they pose to our society. I am in regular contact with the Garda Commissioner about all aspects of serious crime and I know that the Garda will continue to bear down heavily on the activities of those involved in gangland crime.

The only effective way to combat organised crime is by disrupting and prosecuting those involved in its operations, especially the drugs trade, which is at the heart of much of its profits. We should not underestimate the difficulties the Garda faces in trying to prevent gangland killings, in particular those involving the killing of members of one gang by those of another, and related crimes and in bringing the perpetrators to justice. These crimes are carefully planned and are carried out by people who are familiar with criminal and forensic investigation techniques. Moreover, despite the clear risk to themselves, members of gangs will not generally co-operate with Garda investigations. Despite these difficulties the Garda has been able to bring people before the courts, particularly in the case of several high-profile killings in recent years, although it will take some time before those cases are disposed of.

This is not a budgetary matter. In this context, the Commissioner has made it clear that where resources are needed to combat serious and organised crime, those resources will be made available. The number of gangland murders was, in fact, higher when Garda numbers were higher and higher than they are today. It is unrealistic to expect the Commissioner to devote his entire resources to individually protecting people who are routinely trying to avoid the Garda in order that they can continue to engage in criminal activity. Such an approach could only come at the expense of ordinary Garda activity to protect the community generally.

There is already strong anti-gangland legislation in place. I have made it clear to the Garda Commissioner that if he believes there are other measures that could be taken in this area I will look at the matter very positively. Anyway, it is misleading for anyone to suggest that there is some simple legislative solution which will prevent dangerous criminals from trying to kill each other. If that were the case it would have been enacted years ago.

Despite the many positive developments in recent years in Northern Ireland, the Garda has never let up in its efforts to counteract criminal groups whose only objective is to drag our island back to a dark past. The police force has a proud record in this respect standing in defence of the State. The Garda will continue to be fully supported in its efforts to counter the activities of these subversive criminals. The fight against criminal terrorism has been and remains an absolute priority for the Garda authorities and that will not change.

The shared objective of the Government and the authorities in Northern Ireland is to enhance community safety on the whole of the island. I assure the House that, in co-operation with the authorities in Northern Ireland, we will continue to spare no effort to ensure that those criminal terrorists who seek to subvert the democratic will of the people will face the full rigours of the law. I listened with interest to what Senator White said about the Police Service of Northern Ireland and its Chief Constable, Matt Baggott. She suggested I was taking a Civil Service line but I was not; this is practical reality. I put it to Senator White that there is extraordinary co-operation going on between the Garda Síochána and the PSNI in addressing the particular issues she raised, not only the issue of subversive crime but of organised gangs who are located on one side of the Border and who set about marauding on people on the opposite side of the Border. There is the closest co-operation going on, including exchange of information and intelligence and co-ordinated operations North and South. I hope and trust that such work will bring to justice those who murdered Garda Donohoe.

In the context of general criminality there are gangs operating along the Border, some of which locate in one part of the island and commit crime on the other part of the island. Some are engaged in general criminality, including fuel laundering operations, and they have no interest in the Border; they simply operate North and South. However, there is the closest co-operation and there are regular meetings between members of An Garda Síochána and the PSNI at all levels. I have regular meetings with the Northern Ireland Minister for the Department of Justice, David Ford. We have regular contact to discuss issues of mutual concern. Meetings take place at which there are present the two ministers with responsibility for justice on this island, David Ford and myself, the Chief Constable, the Garda Commissioner and those working with us. This is a continuing and regular contact and interaction.

It is important to acknowledge that members of An Garda Síochána provide a vital service to the public. They are called into an remarkable variety of situations on a daily basis. These calls bring with them attendant risks which those in the force must assess and deal with regularly. We have had a dreadful reminder of the extent of these risks in recent days. We must never forget this nor take for granted the work the Garda carries out on our behalf. In this respect, a safe society is the responsibility of every member of that society and not only those in the Garda. The interconnection between the Garda and the community is vital in the successful delivery of a policing service in Ireland. The closure of stations that has been effected will not impede that community interaction and connection because it is one of the central objectives of the Garda Síochána that these values are maintained and this is detailed in the policing plan for 2013. Neither I, as Minister, nor the Government will shirk in our responsibility to do everything we can to ensure that this connection is not broken and that the best possible resources are made available to An Garda Síochána.

I apologise for taking so long. This is a serious issue. It is important that we discuss reality and that we do not unnecessarily engage in party political posturing or point scoring. The Garda deserves our full support. I put it to the House that despite the difficult financial circumstances in which we find ourselves and despite the agreements with the troika with which we must comply to get the funding the State still needs to pay for essential front-line services, I will continue to do everything I can as the Minister for Justice and Equality to ensure that we do for the Garda what is necessary.

I advise Senator O'Donovan and others who are interested in legislation, as well as my colleagues on my side of this House, that I expect, within the next few weeks, to publish legislation that past Governments promised on a regular basis, namely, legislation to provide for a DNA database, which should have been enacted years ago. That legislation will be published shortly. It is being finalised in the Attorney General's office and I hope it will be published before Easter or, if not, immediately afterwards. The objective is to have it enacted rapidly. When I came into office there had been much talk about the DNA database but nothing had been done to prepare the technology necessary for it to be established. During 2012, with the assistance of the forensic science laboratory, the technology was made available and ready. If this legislation is enacted we will be up and running with a DNA database before the end of this year.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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In view of the most detailed and comprehensive reply I have ever heard from a Minister on an Private Members' motion, I propose that we amend the Order of Business to conclude the debate at 8.40 p.m.

Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for making himself available this afternoon for the earlier debate as well as this motion, as well as the filibuster length of his speech -----

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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It was not intended.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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----- although I know that was not his intention. I thank him for his detailed contribution, which contained much with which all of us can agree. Nobody doubts his personal commitment to doing the best job he can. That goes for the Minister of the day irrespective of his or her party or Department.

I followed the debate on the monitor while I was preparing to come down to the Chamber and I heard the Minister switch with agility from the previous Government's national recovery plan to the current Opposition's pre-budget submission and back again. We often hear that the previous Government did this or that. I was not in the previous Government. The people have adjudicated on its manifesto and the national recovery plan and my party lost 53 seats. My job as one of the 14 Members elected to the Seanad for Fianna Fáil is to hold this Government to account on its performance. If we were to do that based on its own manifesto, we would be looking at the greatest act of political delinquency any of us ever witnessed in regard to the promises made under all headings. I do not refer to the Minister's area in particular. When a question pertaining to health was put to the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Perry, his only refuge was to hang up on live radio. Senator Kelly could tell the Minister about the accident and emergency departments of Roscommon. We could go through all the various issues. The figures were known at the time because the then Opposition had access to the books of the Department of Finance. Opposition Members even met the same troika which informs me regularly that it does not prescribe every cut needed in Ministers' respective areas. They merely suggest cuts but they are happy to go along with alternatives provided the bottom line is the same. We must be fair in these debates and if the Minister's only response to constructive criticism of his performance is to look to the already adjudicated on Government of the past, that is wrong. When one is playing football today one does not blame the team of yesterday for losing the game or playing badly. I am sure somebody as experienced in politics and the legal profession as the Minister can at least concede that it is a poor response to constructive criticism.

As someone from regional Ireland - Sligo town in the north west - I have raised the issue of the Garda fleet of vehicles well in advance of the recent criminal tragedies. I am not being opportunistic in raising the issue again this week. There are eight detectives in the unit in Sligo, which is the ninth largest urban centre in Ireland, and six in Cavan town. These two units share one car between them. Under anybody's calculations that does not provide adequate resources to allow people to do their job. The term "aggravated burglary" used to be quite foreign to our part of the country. When the Troubles in the North were at their height there may have been times when these crimes were more regular but it has now become a real concept. I am sure Members have similar experiences in their own parts of the country. West County Sligo, for those who are not familiar with it, stretches from Ballina and along the coast into Ballisodare and Sligo town. According to the official figures, there are eight gardaí in that area. The reality on the ground is that two gardaí are on duty at any one time and the area is covered by the superintendent in Ballymote, which is more than 80 minutes drive. If a serious incident occurs on a day when somebody has called in sick, one law enforcement officer will be available to respond. The area has suffered several serious aggravated burglaries, including an incident involving a lady who was recovering from an illness and whose husband brought the family to mass in the evening. Two men with balaclavas came into the house to steal whatever they could. People wonder how this can happen but it is basic mathematics. If I am a criminal who knows that two gardaí cover an area at any one time it is a simple issue of finding an accomplice to watch the gardaí while I rob the house.

If it were merely a case of Stepaside to town or Dalkey to Dún Laoghaire I would agree with the Minister but as somebody who is familiar with the culture of rural Ireland and the fact that people live in different villages and even islands, I recognise the need to deploy gardaí on the ground. Conversations I have had with gardaí who are friends of mine suggest that morale in the force is at an all time low. As this problem extends back to the previous Government, do not think I am letting it away with it. This is a challenge for all of us. I do not say it is a specific issue of resourcing but we need to address it. I commend the Minister on his efforts but more must be done. Perhaps he needs more resources from his Government colleagues to do what is necessary.

I will conclude on a point with which I am sure the House will agree. A colleague in the Dáil spoke about the use of cocaine and class A drugs as if they were like trying a pint of Guinness or a different type of pasta in a restaurant. I resent that attitude. The Deputy in question may be in breach of the code of conduct for Members of the Oireachtas and any buffoon who uses cocaine and boasts about it without connecting bullets in the back of people's heads on a weekly basis is deluded and, quite frankly, has no place in these Houses.

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister and thank him for his comprehensive response to the motion. I also thank Fianna Fáil for tabling the motion because it offers an opportunity to tease out the new policing arrangements. I agree with the sentiments expressed by Senator MacSharry in regard to the Member of the other House and his recent stupid and ridiculous comments.

I want to state my total and unequivocal support for An Garda Síochána and compliment the force on the service it provides to the citizens of this State and the exemplary work its members have done over the years in protecting communities throughout the country. It is unfortunate that people are playing politics with the recent reforms announced by the Minister, Deputy Shatter, which are designed to provide a more efficient and effective police force, as well as to make more efficient use of the scarce resources of the State.

We will not go back over why the resources of the State are so scarce, but we are all aware of the difficult times we live in, where every service is under pressure. The Garda Síochána and the Commissioner are obliged to use their resources as effectively and efficiently as possible. As politicians, we must stop being so irresponsible and stop frightening the people with untrue statements and comments that do not stand up.

As the Minister has said, Garda strength is over 13,400 and will remain at over 13,000 for the next number of years. We also have a reserve force of over 1,000. Some 100 stations are to be closed, one of which is in my home parish and which station was open for three hours a day. Hand on heart, I only got one phone call as a result of the closure of that Garda station. The reason there was no outcry is because the gardaí came to the community and spoke to representatives of residents and assured them adequate cover would be provided and that gardaí would patrol the area and provide an up-to-date, modern policing service to the community. The same happened in several communities around east Galway.

I have a difficulty with regard to Garda vehicles and I am glad the Minister has addressed this recently. When the parish of New Inn was informed it was to be provided for by Kilreekil, I was told there was no Garda car in Kilreekil to provide that service. However, I am pleased to learn that the situation is being rectified as a result of the moneys - an additional ¤5 million this year - the Minister is making available for the purchase and replacement of Garda vehicles. I want to see gardaí out in the community and patrolling areas and interacting with communities on a regular basis. They should be out in the community at peak demand times and should be there to deal with mobile criminals who are patrolling various parts of the country. A garda sitting in a Garda station in rural Ireland is not much use when we have criminals who are very mobile and roaming rural Ireland and making use of our new, improved road network for their criminal activities.

I welcome the new roster system. I have been told by quite a number of gardaí that it is working very well and many of them welcome the fact it is more family friendly and more effective in helping them perform their duties. I share the concerns expressed by many speakers with regard to the fear felt by the elderly in isolated areas. However, as the Minister said, we cannot have a garda protecting every house in the country. The protection of the elderly will be more successful if we have regular Garda patrols throughout our communities, which will interact with the local Neighbourhood Watch and Community Alert people. We revamped the Neighbourhood Watch system in my area recently and it is working effectively and people feel more secure as a result.

I compliment the Minister on the work he is doing. This motion was timely and appropriate, but as public representatives we need to row in behind the Garda Commissioner and the Minister to ensure that as a result of the commitment being given, we will have a smarter, more effective and more efficient policing system throughout the country, using the scarce resources we have got. In years to come, we should be able to look back and wonder why we did not take this route earlier.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I am always amused when I hear Government representatives talk about the Opposition playing politics with issues. I am sure if we were to waste our time and go back over endless hours of contributions the Minister made when he was Opposition spokesman for his party and when he was seeking to hold the then Government to account on a range of issues, we would see that he was often accused of playing politics with issues. It strikes me this Government in particular is trying to rewrite, not just history, but how we do politics and the role of the Opposition. We seem to get this attitude a lot from the Government. It is as if it cannot be criticised and any criticism is seen as playing party politics with issues.

I find the Minister's response on this issue entirely disingenuous. The Minister talks about smart policing, but he is really engaged in semantics. There is nobody in the Chamber against smart policing. Nobody here is against better and more effective use of Garda resources. Therefore, there is nobody against the principle of smart policing. However, many people outside of this Chamber living in communities that will be affected by the closure of Garda stations, the reduction in Garda numbers and a reduction of resources generally to the Garda Síochána will see all of these reductions as anything but smart. The demand for protests and the demand to hold the Government to account on these issues comes from communities that feel isolated, particularly those in rural areas, and which are fearful of the kinds of policies being put in place by the Government.

The Minister also makes the charge that some people find change difficulty. I accept that some people do find change difficult. However, most people do not find cuts to the resources of An Garda Síochána, to the number of gardaí patrolling the streets and to the number of Garda stations difficult, but they see them as wrong and as something that should not happen. The Minister also spoke about public representatives fuelling fear, but many people are genuinely fearful of the changes being made.

The premise of the Minister's argument here today is entirely disingenuous. He is correct and I agree with him with regard to the hypocrisy of the Fianna Fáil Party in tabling this motion, because it was the party that agreed to the National Recovery Plan 2010-2014, the now infamous four-year plan. It was the party that agreed with the troika that we should reduce Garda numbers and that agreed cuts in the number of Garda stations. However, the Minister is delivering on those policies. Therefore, he cannot on the one hand come in here and accuse Fianna Fáil of hypocrisy and on the other come in as a Minister who is continuing with those policies. He has no new policies of his own, but is continuing with the policies negotiated by the previous Government with the troika.

While the Minister sits there and says that members of the Opposition are whipping up fear, the reality is that we meet members of the community every day of the week who are genuinely concerned about these cuts. We also meet rank and file members of An Garda Síochána who are also fearful. The Government makes great play of the fact the Garda Commission is on the public record as saying he is confident he can provide the same level of service with the resources he has. What else would one expect him to say? A Garda Commissioner will not step into the political arena and engage in that type of debate. This has always been the case and is the correct position for any Garda commissioner. However, the Minister can bet his bottom dollar that behind the scenes, the Garda Commissioner, Chief Superintendents and superintendents and Garda sergeants and community police officers across the State are very concerned about the cuts the Minister, his party and the Government are making in this area.

While I share the Minister's view regarding the hypocrisy of Fianna Fáil, I level the same charge against the Minister.

He is also engaged in hypocrisy. When he was his party's justice spokesman in opposition, he railed against the very changes he is now implementing, including cuts in Garda numbers and Garda station closures. As a Fianna Fáil Senator said, the exact same thing is evident during debates on many other issues, including health. While I agree that Fianna Fáil has a brass neck to come in here to engage in such hypocrisy, I contend that the Minister has a brass neck as well.

John Whelan (Labour)
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I appreciate the decision of the Minister, Deputy Shatter, to come here today. I realise that he has a great deal of responsibility on his plate. I think it is important that he is present to hear our concerns and views at first hand. The House has to be grateful to the Minister for giving such a thorough and comprehensive response to this Private Members' motion.

Having said that, it is important for the Minister to hear from us about the genuine fears of people. These fears are not groundless. Perhaps the Minister will take them into account in the development and implementation of future policy. We may have inherited these problems from the previous Government - its recklessness has been well rehearsed during this debate - but it does not follow that we should adopt that Government's policies. I have serious concerns that the rapport, mutual respect and special relationship that normally exists between the Garda and the Government of the day is under great strain. I urge the Minister to do everything he can to try to restore and rebuild that relationship.

I am in favour of smart policing. I am fully in favour of reform and change if it results in a more effective way of doing things. The PULSE system is often referred to as one of the most important resources as changes are introduced to make our system of policing more modern. The PULSE system that I rely on is having the finger on the pulse in towns, villages and communities throughout the country and listening to members of the Garda Síochána.

I understand that over 350 officers attended last night's GRA meeting in Cork. I note with some disquiet that they voted unanimously to take strike action, in effect, which would be a very serious step. It is a reflection of the low morale in the Garda. It would almost be tantamount to mutiny in the force. I implore the GRA and the AGSI to step back from that kind of action. It is a two-way street. I ask the Minister to meet the GRA and the AGSI halfway. This is not just about Garda stations. The point and the case we are making is not as simplistic as that. It is about Garda resources, patrols and visibility. It is about local knowledge.

Throughout November, I repeatedly raised the serious incidents that were happening in Mountmellick, sometimes in broad daylight. The citizens of the town are afraid to traverse the main street and go about their business. I could not have conjured up a headline - "Sledgehammer Attack" - in the edition of my local paper that was published yesterday. The headline, in the Leinster Express, relates to an attack on a lone garda in Mountmellick in the early hours of Monday morning. That is an example of the kind of challenge and the kind of problem being faced by gardaí.

A good point made by Senator Landy needs to be considered. It is unfortunate that we proceeded with the closure of Garda stations before we rolled out the deployment of the new Garda vehicles. To be fair, the Minister took the wise decision to make resources available for those vehicles. My understanding was that the 212 new patrol vehicles which were purchased last year were to be deployed in December 2012 and January 2013. I have not seen any of them in the Laois-Offaly Garda division or in other parts of the country. A strategic mistake was made because people would have felt more reassured and heartened if they had seen those vehicles on the beat prior to the closure of the Garda stations.

Gardaí are law-abiding people. They are not militant. They are supporters of the State and of the Government. I believe they think their pay and basic working conditions are under attack at the moment. Serving members of the force have told me that gardaí with up to 20 years' service are now relying on credit to get by. I have been informed that since 2007, gardaí have taken a 26% cut in their effective rate of pay. I am aware of Garda families that are applying for and receiving family income supplement. Now more pay cuts are proposed. I do not think the Minister for Justice and Equality would like to see any serving member of the Garda being reduced to this level. This has traditionally been regarded as a good and well-paid job.

As a Government, we must do everything we can to regain the trust of gardaí and retain their expertise and vast experience. I am a supporter and advocate of Community Alert schemes. I am involved in such a scheme in my own rural community of Timahoe and Ratheniska. Our local scheme was established through Muintir na Tíre with the assistance of a retired superintendent. If we are to deter unscrupulous criminals from engaging in these activities throughout the countryside, we need deterrents other than text alerts. We need highly-motivated gardaí on the beat with modern patrol cars. Their response times should be quick enough to reassure rural people that they are not isolated or being left alone. We must be careful with the use of statistics. They can be applied in all sorts of ways. I do not think the reality on the ground is necessarily borne out in the statistics we are using.

I was glad to hear the Minister say that the Garda buildings which are being vacated can be put to positive community use. This is important. I echo and support the views of a member of Dublin City Council, Mannix Flynn, who has pointed out that these buildings are in important locations and form an important part of our policing heritage, tradition and history across the length and breadth of the country. It would be a disaster if they were to fall into disrepair, to be vandalised or to be pilfered. I encourage the Minister to ensure they are retained, maintained and managed so they can be put to good use. They should not be allowed to decay or to be lost to the community.

Notwithstanding the budgetary challenges the Minister is facing, I urge him to try to re-engage with the GRA and the AGSI. If he can get them back to the table, they should start with a clean sheet. I urge the associations to meet the Minister halfway in that regard.

Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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I am delighted to have an opportunity to speak on this important motion. This is a burning issue up and down the country, particularly in many rural areas but also in cities and other urban areas. Threats to the lives of members of the Garda Síochána and members of the general public are associated with the ongoing phenomenon of gangland criminality. Old people in the part of the country where I come from are living in a state of fear. Some people have told me at constituency clinics that they are afraid to go to the bingo as a result of the lack of policing and the lack of resources available to the Garda. I know the Minister spoke on this issue on local radio in County Donegal. I did not hear the interview but I know that it was obvious that he had not been briefed on the point of view of local gardaí. Members of the force in County Donegal and other western counties have made it clear that there is a complete breakdown between the Minister's version of what is happening at national level and what is actually happening on the ground.

The Minister has every right to come in and rebut the motion by saying the troika brought in certain proposals which had to be adhered to. If the troika agreement that was signed up to was so ring-fenced and so hard and fast, why was the Minister in a position to obtain additional resources? Why was Fianna Fáil in a position to sit down with the troika team over numerous months and be told that decisions on how the budgetary adjustment should be achieved were matters for the Government of the State? We have been told that every Minister in the Government is responsible for deciding how the budgetary arithmetic can best be achieved, for example by making changes to staffing levels or to capital or current expenditure.

It is not right to blame those who are funding us. It is a matter for the Government to decide on how the resources are expended. It is very easy to blame the troika. I often hear that the troika is to blame or Fianna Fáil is to blame whereas the only people not to blame, it would appear, are the members of the current Government. Perhaps the GRA, the unions and everyone else is wrong, and perhaps the only people who are actually right are Government Ministers. I do not subscribe to that.

I am very disappointed with the resources being made available to rank and file gardaí. I would agree with much of what has been said by most Senators, including Senator Whelan. However, the ordinary gardaí who speak to us as public representatives have a right to do so. They may not do it in a public forum but they have every right to speak to us or to express their opinions through their own organisation. The opinion that is coming forward is one of discontent, disquiet and unease at the level of resources being made available.

I come from a county where two members of the Garda Síochána lost their lives while undertaking their duties - the late Garda Robert McCallion and Garda Gary McLoughlin, of whom the Minister is well aware. My county has witnessed a spate of crime, in particular burglaries on elderly members of the community, and in particular since last October up to the end of January, where people as old as 96 were targeted and burgled in their homes. There are people living in a state of fear. This is the wrong time to close down Garda stations. We can say we are in a new and modern age but how can we expect the elderly population, who very often live alone, to subscribe to the new modern technology. How can we expect stations or community halls to be used for two hours a day or two hours a week? Are we telling the criminals only to commit the crimes during the two hours of those days or that week? It is a crazy situation. We are leaving vast areas without a presence.

For example, Glencolmcille Garda station was opened in the 1920s and closed last week. That Garda station had a point of presence in the locality. The population in that area more than doubles during the summer yet we are now leaving it without a Garda station. People can argue that resources are being channelled in a different way but that does not appear to be happening on the ground in regard to the additional hours. There is a lack of resources in terms of Garda stations.

I am not here to take lectures from Sinn Féin in regard to the activities and resources of An Garda Síochána over the last 30 years in the Border region. I lived in Northern Ireland for longer than perhaps any other Member of the House and I saw first-hand what was occurring there, on both sides and on all sides. The Border is left open at present.

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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The Senator should conclude.

Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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The area from Derry city to Lifford has 16 Border crossings yet the local Garda provision has been withdrawn and centralised to Buncrana and Letterkenny Garda stations. If the Minister is not willing to provide the resources to An Garda Síochána, and if he is willing to allow a situation where criminals are coming across the Border and breaking into houses in an organised fashion, there has to be another way of thinking where the Army-----

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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The Senator is eating into other Members' time.

Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister has responsibility for the Army. If he is not willing to make the resources available, will he consider, or does he believe it appropriate, to have the Army deployed along the Border considering what is occurring at the present?

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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The Senator is being unfair to everybody else.

Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate that.

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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There are four speakers and I want to try to accommodate all of them. If possible, we will reduce the time to three and a half or four minutes each.

Catherine Noone (Fine Gael)
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I want to formally second the amendment proposed by Senator Bradford.

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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It has already been seconded.

Catherine Noone (Fine Gael)
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That is fine. I welcome the Minister to the House and commend him for his incredible work-rate. The last number of weeks have seen a lot of talk about changes in Garda practice and station closures. This motion addresses the concern of the Garda Commissioner about not wanting to let the levels in the service drop below 13,000. Fianna Fáil's plan would have hit exactly that number in 2014 yet, right now, Garda numbers are still above what Fianna Fáil was projecting back in 2012. Therefore, I would have to say this Fianna Fáil motion smacks of hypocrisy, wherein it opposes these reforms although its own National Recovery Plan 2011-14 showed that it proposed a reduction in Garda numbers and bigger cuts in the Garda budget. It is hypocrisy that, out of one of side of his mouth, the Fianna Fáil leader laments the parish pump politics and the continuation of politics as usual, but he then engages in precisely that. It is hypocrisy in that Fianna Fáil does not care about the actual numbers, with crime having reduced between 2008 and 2012, and instead tries to generate fear in communities.

Numbers - real numbers - matter, so they should. Let us take a look at some of the Fianna Fáil numbers and compare them to our own. In 2012 the Minister, Deputy Shatter, secured ¤2.243 billion, which was an additional ¤118 million over and above the intended Fianna Fáil allocation of ¤2.125 billion. For this year, the Minister secured funding of ¤2.2 billion, which was ¤191 million over and above the Fianna Fáil allocation of ¤2.009 billion. The reality of these numbers is that the budget for policing is better off than it would have been under Fianna Fáil's plans. It is there in black and white in Fianna Fáil's own report.

Nevertheless, despite Fianna Fáil attempting to generate controversy and upset in communities over these policing issues, let us look at some facts about Garda station closures. Of the 100 stations to be closed in 2013, 98% are open part time while 94% are open for three hours a day or less. Meanwhile, in terms of personnel, 88% are served by one garda and only 5% are served by three or more Garda personnel. What does this mean precisely? In the case of one garda manning a station, it now means one garda is freed up to patrol. The reality of advancing technology, communications and equipment for gardaí means gardaí are now deployed on our streets and are able to access information and communicate as effectively and efficiently as they were when based at a station just ten years ago. Policing is evolving as technology evolves and our structures need to evolve with it.

Evidently, this has the capacity to scare people as they think police coverage will be thinner, and Fianna Fáil plays on this fear. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that to have Fianna Fáil bemoaning stations closing and better equipped gardaí being allowed to protect the streets is akin to complaining that we no longer buy as many muskets for the army as we used to and have instead upgraded them. Technology changes and processes update. Having a station open for three hours a day when the gardaí can be better deployed elsewhere is pure symbolism, which I know many politicians like to specialise in.

Fine Gael has always prided itself on its position as a law and order party, and that is so in this case also. However, for once, the greater good and the good of the police force clashes with the parish pump. We have chosen the good of the police force. I am sorry to say this motion shows Fianna Fáil already harking back to the parish pump.

John Kelly (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister to the House again. The Garda Síochána has and always had my full support. However, as we speak, it is a force that is disillusioned and semi-demoralised, mainly with the direction the force is going. I would have to agree with the suggestion of Senators Landy and Whelan that it might have been a mistake to close down the Garda stations before first putting in place the new fleet of cars the Minister has purchased, and letting people know we had them, perhaps by advertising this on television and explaining how many cars would be in circulation in each county. This would have served to allay the fears of elderly people.

A similar mistake was made in regard to the closing of the accident and emergency unit in Roscommon Hospital, where the HSE promised the unit would not be closed until after it proved to the people over a number of months how the advanced paramedics were going to work in the locality, in order that their fears would be allayed. It did not do that and, again, it put the fear of God into people. Lessons should be learned from some of these issues.

There are also concerns within the Garda in regard to the new rostering arrangements. I see this in my own home town of Ballaghaderreen.

The station there is not the headquarters. The headquarters are in Castlerea, but the staff at Ballaghaderreen are being told to go up to Castlerea every night in their cars. Yet the crime figures for my area are greater than those for Castlerea. They are no sooner up in Castlerea than they are sent back down to Ballaghaderreen again. As was already mentioned, it is important that we do everything to make sure we do not end up with a blue flu epidemic again. I agree with calls for us to consider reopening Templemore in the very near future. We cannot let a situation arise in which the force gets demoralised, members take early retirement and we are left with a two-year period in which numbers of gardaí on the ground are low.

Senator Darragh O'Brien mentioned burglaries earlier, and said it had been mentioned at a joint policing committee that the Department was looking for more lenient sentences for burglars. That, coupled with an advertisement that the Garda stations are closing, is not a good recipe when one puts the two together. It needs to be hit somehow on the head. Senator MacSharry made a point I was going to make. I know we are supposedly putting more police cars on the streets. Given the introduction of mobile phones and the fact that gangs are coming down from other parts of the country with between one and three cars, they will always be ahead of us unless we address it in a different way.

Senator Daly said that the previous Government could not be blamed, that the Government could do business its own way and that the troika did not demand that we do this. Fianna Fáil signed up to this in 2010 with the troika, yet it now says there were other ways it could have been done. I ask Senator Daly and Senator Ó Domhnaill, who made a similar point, to tell us what the other ways are. What other way was the previous Government going to propose if it had not agreed with the troika? Had it another plan, and if so, why did it not use it?

Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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They were in our pre-budget statement.

John Kelly (Labour)
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The Minister said that this was the Garda Commissioner's plan. Why is it only now that he has come up with this plan? If one was in any way cynical, one could ask Fianna Fáil colleagues why he did not do it when they were in Government. Why is he doing it when we are in Government?

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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To crucify the Labour Party.

John Kelly (Labour)
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The Minister was here to speak on an Adjournment debate about the closure of Garda stations in my county of Roscommon. I am not trying to justify the closure of many of the Garda stations, but I reiterate a point I made during that debate. Tarmonbarry on the River Shannon is one of the few-----

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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The Senator can raise this issue on the Adjournment.

John Kelly (Labour)
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It should be looked at again. I appeal to him not to write that one off.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for coming to the House and for taking decisions in respect of proper management of the Garda force in this country. Two Government Ministers were severely criticised recently because decisions were taken affecting particular areas and false allegations were made. Now, however, the Minister for Justice and Equality has taken a decision that affects his own constituency and we have not seen any headlines in the newspapers on the taking of that decisive action, because he believed it was the correct decision to make.

We have seen the figures showing that 94% of the Garda stations to be closed were open for three hours or less. Do people want to keep them open even if that means keeping them open for 15 minutes in the day? If that is the kind of system they want, it will not provide a very good service for the local community in any area. The figures clearly show that there will be 61,000 extra Garda patrol hours available as a result of this change. We have all seen that there are 83 police stations in Northern Ireland for a population of 1.4 million, while there are 340 police stations in Scotland for a population of 5.2 million. We are moving with the times by creating an efficient Garda force and providing backup support to the local community. Everyone in the community has a role to play in working with and protecting each other and making sure that people assist the gardaí in preventing criminal activity. The ordinary person does have a part to play. I have seen this work very effectively in my constituency of Cork North Central. Over the past 18 years, I have been working with the local community policing service. One project involved training 50 young people who had dropped out of school. The vast majority of those young people - 50 at any one time - were referred to us by gardaí working with the local community and young people. We carried out a survey of those 50 young people because there is a different group every year. Five years after leaving the training system, the vast majority of them were in full-time employment. The records also showed that the vast majority of their fathers or grandfathers had never worked. This was the positive contribution the Garda made in that area. The gardaí on the north side of Cork city meet with all of the local communities on a regular basis, making sure that if there are issues that need to be dealt with, they are highlighted and dealt with. The work being done by the Garda is very positive, and long may it continue.

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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Unfortunately, we are almost out of time. Senator Harte has one minute.

Jimmy Harte (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister. My wife was born in a Garda station, as were many of her siblings in Carrigart in Donegal. I must add that this was not because her mother was a criminal but because her father was a Garda. That was over 50 years ago. The Garda station was manned by a family, as were most stations in the country. The local Garda, God rest my father-in-law, was usually there seven days a week. He did not take a holiday. He was an ordinary country man who enjoyed his job.

The police service that we have now and want to develop cannot be based on that model because the young gardaí we have now are trained up and technologically savvy. Most of them have degrees and many of them are studying policing. It is a different system. If we were setting up a police force today, we would not have 700 Garda stations. People talk about how robberies happen along the Border. I lived in Lifford when there were 50 gardaí there and we were terrorised by certain individuals who called gardaí collaborators, protested outside the Garda station and petrol-bombed it. That was 25 years ago, not 50 or 60 years ago. At that stage, there were people on both sides of the Border, but the call for more Garda stations to be open on the Donegal side of the Border is in contrast to the PSNI stations on the other side of the Border which are being closed down. We are now protecting the Border without any police stations on the other side, thanks to Sinn Féin.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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Crime is falling there as well.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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Senator Harte should check the statistics.

Jimmy Harte (Labour)
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"I welcome the closure of stations that are underused and cost the taxpayers money." This is a quote from Councillor Seán Donnelly, Sinn Féin, west Tyrone. I rest my case.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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They are underused.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I express my deep regret that I posed a total of 16 questions to the Minister, who chose to ignore or did not answer ten of them. I am asking a simple question. I asked the Minister about the lack of progress with regard to the investigation into the murderers of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe. The point I was making is that I want to see the murderers arrested and locked up tonight if possible. It is not a criticism of the Minister, but it was such a callous crime and we are being told that the Garda knows who these people are. There were 16 different articles over the weekend. I do not always get the newspapers to read and I specifically did not get them to throw at the Minister. This was not political spin by the newspapers and the rest of the media. Various journalists condemned the low morale within the Garda, the closure of Garda stations and the Garda College at Templemore and the lack of resources. That was not a Fianna Fáil issue. The Minister will also ignore at his peril the comments of the GRA and the AGSI. He cannot do this and if he does, it is at his peril. I am not being political when I say he can also ignore at his peril the very striking and powerful eulogy by the priest at the funeral of Detective Garda Donohoe.

That was not done without the prior imprimaturof his family and of the wider Garda community.

The Minister ignores at his peril the pleas of rank and file gardaí. He cannot ignore the comments made in the House on a previous occasion by Senator Sheehan to the effect that the streets of Dublin are not safe to walk on. He also cannot ignore the fact that communities and rural alliance groups are approaching Members in respect of this matter. I have never sought a public meeting in respect of the closure of rural barracks but I have attended a number of such meetings. We are not the catalyst when it comes to criticisms being made; it is community councils and, on occasion, those gardaí who work in rural stations and who are embedded in their local communities that are raising concerns.

I wish to nail a particular lie in respect of the availability of 61,000 additional Garda patrol hours. I live in a very rural area near Schull, which is on the Mizen Peninsula in west Cork, and I am not in possession of an iota of evidence from community council activists and gardaí that the closure of local stations has given rise to this extra allowance. The notion that a garda in a rural station comes to work for four hours, puts his feet up on his desk, drinks a cup of coffee and looks out the window is nonsense. Most Senators will agree that rural gardaí are involved in their communities and are members of local GAA or soccer teams. They call to the homes of elderly people to check on them and they can sometimes be seen doing work out of hours. These officers are active in the communities in which they live. I hate the fact that this will no longer be the case. The Minister stated that Garda squad cars will patrol places such as the Mizen, the Beara and the Sheep's Head peninsulas and many other remote areas in Kerry, Donegal and other western counties. In such locations, it would probably take a garda an hour to drive - on bad roads - to the scene of a crime, which is ludicrous. A locally-based officer could be on the scene in a matter of minutes.

This is an extremely important matter. There is no evidence available that indicates that the smart policing model - or whatever one wishes to call it - offers a better way to operate. In the context of what Senator Landy and others stated, I am aware that, unfortunately, those who are taking the biggest hit in rural areas, particularly the area in which I live, are elected representatives from the Labour Party. Those opposite ignore that fact at their peril.

I posed a large number of questions on particular issues and I am disappointed the Minister did not bring greater clarity to the answers he offered in respect of them. As a justice spokesperson on this side of the House, it would be remiss of me to ignore those issues. The Minister, Deputy Shatter, has left the Chamber but I wish to give an assurance to his replacement that if what is happening is allowed to continue - if the resources and manpower available to the Garda are not improved and further rural stations are closed - we will raise this matter again and we will not be cowed by a lot of nonsense from the Government in respect of something that happened three or four years ago. In my opinion, the Minister's response was disappointing. I am most disillusioned with what he said.