Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 201: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will provide Deputies with a copy of all documentation produced by the officials in his Department, who visited areas in Britain in which specials are used, in reporting on that visit. [16833/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I attended the National Conference of the Special Constabulary of England and Wales which was held on the weekend 31 March to 2 April. I was invited to attend the Conference by Mr. Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of the Cheshire Constabulary, who also holds national responsibility for the promotion and development of the Special Constabulary in England and Wales.

I was very glad to have the opportunity to hear at first hand the many positive experiences of special constabularies in England and Wales and to learn of their excellent relationships with the regular police forces there, and I have been very open in explaining what I observed.

Prior to my visit to Chester, officials of my Department and senior members of Garda management had visited the Home Office, the London Metropolitan Police and the Greater Manchester Police to research how the special constabulary operates in England and Wales, as part of the preparatory work for the formulation of proposals for the establishment of a Garda Reserve. These visits helped greatly in this work, and a wide range of information was acquired through material supplied by Chief Constable Fahy, meetings with officials, police and special constables, and attendance at the Conference.

While it would not be appropriate to publish all documentation associated with the visits, and given too that the range of information acquired could not be comprehensively captured in any individual document, I would be happy to respond as best I can to any specific questions the Deputy may have of our understanding of the Special Constabularies in Britain and their relevance to the proposals for a Garda Reserve.