Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 79: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress made in implementing the recent report of An Garda Síochána Advisory Groups, published on 7 November 2006; if a timetable has been set for their implementation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12924/07]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Very significant progress has been made since November 2006 with regard to the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report referred to by the Deputy. I can confirm that an additional Deputy Commissioner was appointed in charge of Strategy and Change Management on the 17th January 2007 and preparations are at an advanced stage to commence the recruitment of a civilian Chief Administration Officer in An Garda Síochána, at a grade equivalent to Deputy Commissioner.

An Garda Síochána is also in the process of recruiting senior civilian managers as Head of Media and Public Relations and Directors of Change Management, Human Resources and Information Technology. A model of succession planning for senior members of An Garda Síochána is also being developed as recommended.

A dedicated Human Resource Directorate has been established within An Garda Síochána to serve the needs of the 2,000 clerical, administrative, professional, technical and industrial staff already working in An Garda Síochána and to promote an extensive programme of civilianisation.

In addition to these measures, significant progress is being made on recruitment to a range of key specialised civilian posts. Candidates have been short-listed for interview for 31 new civilian posts in the Garda Telecommunications area and candidates have been invited to interview for the three senior posts for the new civilian Crime Analysis Service, which will have a complement of 29 Analysts.

There is currently a campaign under way to recruit 300 civilian support staff into An Garda Síochána to release gardaí who are employed on clerical duties to operational duties. This process is well under way and interviews are currently being held by the Public Appointments Service to recruit these Clerical Officers. Since the beginning of 2007, 93 Clerical Officers have been appointed to An Garda Síochána. A further 46 have been offered a Clerical Officer post.

The report also recommends the creation of a Board of Management chaired by the Commissioner with three Deputy Commissioners (one of whom would be a civilian). Section 38 of the Criminal Justice Bill 2007, which is currently before the House, inserts a new Chapter 3A into the Garda Síochána Act 2005 to provide for the establishment and functions of such a Board, i.e, a Garda Síochána Executive Management Board. The Board will consist of executive members and three non-executive members. The executive members will be the Garda Commissioner as chairperson, the Deputy Garda Commissioners and a member of the civilian staff of the Garda Síochána, at a grade equivalent to that of a Deputy Garda Commissioner.

The three non-executive members will be appointed by the Government on the nomination of the Minister. They will be persons with expertise in the strategic and financial management of organisations, the management of their human resources or their planning and review functions, or persons with other relevant experience. The non-executive members will serve in an advisory capacity, providing advice in relation to annual policing plans, budgetary matters, allocation of resources, technology and equipment, setting of targets, training, development and leadership and other related matters.

The function of the Board will be to keep under review the performance by the Garda Síochána of its functions and the arrangements and strategies in place to support and enhance the performance of those functions. The Board will also keep under review the corporate governance arrangements and structures within the Garda Síochána, the arrangements for recruitment, training and development and the mechanisms for the measurement of performance and accountability. The Board will supply reports on the performance of its functions at six-monthly intervals to the Minister and they will be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.