Mr President, distinguished guests, delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I was delighted to accept your kind invitation to address your annual conference. It presents me with an opportunity to express my appreciation to each of you here today and to colleagues for the work that you are doing in the frontline management of policing in this country. I wish to congratulate you on this your 25th Anniversary and pay tribute to all your past members who have retired, including your immediate predecessor, Jimmy Smith. I want to record my thanks and appreciation to them for their dedicated service to the State and I wish them well in retirement.
I also wish to echo your remarks in relation to Constable Ronan Kerr who was the subject of a most heinous crime. Unfortunately, the threat to the lives of members of the PSNI remains. The lives of members of the Garda Síochána are equally under threat.
I was very pleased to meet you and your colleagues recently and I can assure you that I will be available to meet you in the future to hear your views on matters of concern to you and your members.
Croke Park Agreement
Mr President, I want to record my especial thanks to you and your Association for your support for the Croke Park Agreement. Yes, there are many naysayers who want Croke Park to fail. There are many cynics out there who are astounded that change is happening in the spirit of goodwill and cooperation. Agreements reached with industrial peace do not make good headlines. Not enough recognition has been given to the progress that has been made. But the best way to answer the critics is to show that real reform is happening and it is.
To begin with I would like to refer to the rosters. You have played a pivotal role in the delivery of the new roster system and I have no doubt the solid foundations which have been laid will bear fruit during the implementation phase of this major reform. I want to record my appreciation for all your work in getting this project across the line. A project like this calls for real leadership and you have not been found wanting. I need not tell you that this is a major development for the Garda Síochána as an organisation, and a hugely important milestone in the Croke Park process of reform.
The new rosters will make more efficient use of resources right across the Garda Síochána. The new rosters are designed to provide a better match between the availability of Garda members on duty and fluctuating demand for policing services. The new rosters will also respect the EU Working Time Directive and safeguard the health and welfare of members, giving a better work-life balance. This has the potential to be a win-win reform, with better use of resources, a better service to the public and better conditions for members.
I know that there has been intensive engagement between Garda management and the Associations to iron out last minute problems. I am sure that any new issues will be resolved during the nationwide piloting of the rosters starting this month.
I know that an IT system will be needed to support the new rosters, and I understand that work on the development of a comprehensive system is well advanced and that the project is being dealt with as a high priority. In the meantime, Garda management have informed me that the interim IT system will not be restricted to spreadsheets, but will also have the facility to provide reports to supervisors for resource management purposes.
I am also pleased that there has been progress in other areas. The Performance and Learning framework has been piloted. This will make staff more accountable while providing them with a road map for career development. It will also provide you with better management tools.
There will be a better system of compensating Garda members for malicious injuries, so that legal costs are reduced, while members get quicker payments.
All Garda members are now paid electronically. This is a more efficient system and more convenient for members.
There are more - and subject to discussions there will be more - civilian support staff at all levels in the Force, so that Garda members are free to do what they have been so highly trained to do – police work.
I understand the importance you attach to filling vacancies at Superintendent Rank, and more generally in the senior ranks. I do appreciate that superintendents carry out important statutory, supervisory and management functions in the Garda Síochána, and this is a factor which I will certainly bear in mind in my discussions with the Commissioner on these matters. Of course, these discussions take place in the financial and economic circumstances which you have outlined, and careful judgments will have to be made on prioritising posts in the context of reducing public sector numbers.
Having said that, I recently secured Cabinet approval for the appointment of 2 Assistant Garda Commissioners, 8 Chief Superintendents and 23 Superintendents, a total of 33 appointments to senior Garda ranks. All of the consequential vacancies at Sergeant and Inspector ranks will also be filled and I understand that the interview processes have commenced.
I was very glad to secure the agreement of my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, and the Cabinet as a whole for such a significant number of appointments. I am conscious of the need to enable the Garda Commissioner to fill key strategic positions in the senior ranks, and to maintain both the investigative and also the management and supervisory capacity of the Force.
All public servants – you, me, your colleagues at all levels in the Garda Síochána and indeed the civilian staff in the Garda Síochána - have had their pay cut and no one wants to go down that road again. However there is still a significant gap between what we are spending as a nation and the revenue we are raising. We are dependent upon and bound by our commitments to the EU/ IMF as they are paying our way. While the demands on public services are greater than ever - we have to reduce costs. This is a huge challenge for Government. The Government wants to stand by the commitment not to have further pay cuts. We can reduce costs by going about our business and managing our resources more efficiently and this we must do to avoid any pay cuts.
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission
Mr President, I welcome your endorsement of the need for effective police oversight. I also appreciate your concerns about the demands placed on your members who are required to investigate complaints of misconduct against members of the force in what you called ‘service level complaints’. An example might be where a simple explanation or clarification would resolve a problem whereas currently these issues can result in a formal complaint to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. Your Association is concerned with the time and resource input required in applying formal procedures in these instances when a developmental approach would appear to be more appropriate.
As you are all aware, the Garda Síochána Act 2005 sets out the provisions governing the investigation of complaints against members of the Garda Síochána. The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission has brought forward a number of proposals for amendments to the current legislative requirements in this area. One of their proposals is seeking an effective way to deal with the service type complaints. Preliminary discussions have taken place between the Ombudsman Commission and the Garda Síochána with a view to advancing the Ombudsman Commission's proposals in this area.
In addition, I met the newly appointed members of the Ombudsman Commission in January and, following that meeting, they are now engaged in a review of their operations with a view to submitting a paper to me on all relevant issues, including their proposed legislative amendments. I expect to receive the document from the Ombudsman Commission before the summer recess. When I receive their document, I will then be in a position to consider what areas of the present complaints mechanism needs updating and to decide on appropriate steps. Ultimately, any legislative amendments which are being brought forward in this area will require amendment of the Act and, accordingly, formal legislative proposals will be presented to the Oireachtas for debate and consideration in the usual way. However, I wish to assure you that in the meantime, any improvements in the administrative processes will have my full support.
Mr President, can I conclude by recognising the truth of what you have said about the value of leadership. Now, more than ever, we need leadership so that we can meet the challenges ahead. I hope that we in Government have shown that we intend to provide that leadership, but we need leadership from all levels of the public service and from right across society. We need the type of leadership shown by your members in fighting crime and terrorism – and here I join with you in remembering the price that some members of the Force have paid in that fight. I want you to know that you have my wholehearted support in your vital work, and I want to congratulate you all for your leadership and initiative. During my first year as Minister, the actions of An Garda Síochána have substantially contributed to a reduction in crime across almost every area and I know that in the one area in which crime has increased, burglary, a new
initiative is being taken to target relevant groups and individuals and to bring them before the courts. As you are aware, within the last 10 days this has resulted in significant successes. It is important that recognition is given to the outstanding work of the Force to the benefit of the general public.
As Minister, I am fortunate to have under my wing two great Departments - Justice and Defence. I see, at first hand, the close relationship between the Garda Síochána and our Defence Forces and the high level of cooperation between the two. This was clear to the public during the enormously successful security operation surrounding the historic visits of Queen Elizabeth and President Obama last year. What is not always visible to the public are the other occasions when the Defence Forces come to the assistance of the civil power. We know that members of An Garda Síochána may, in today’s world, not only be confronted by violent, dangerous criminals or subversives carrying guns but also by explosive devices hidden or stored, being transported in a vehicle or primed for a target. It is the brave members of our Defence Forces who are called in to disarm and make safe such devices whether they are crude pipe bombs or something more sophisticated. I know there is a mutual respect and close cooperation between the Gardaí and the Army on such operations and it is important that good relationships and respect are maintained. In this context I regret that, in another location in Athlone yesterday, an unfortunate reference was made to the Defence Forces. I do not believe anything is to be gained by any member of An Garda Síochána denigrating the role of our Defence Forces and I hope that such comment is not again repeated. The two Forces are not and never have been in competition with each other. In the context of their domestic duties they complement each other in the important role that each plays and this deserves due recognition.
Mr President, over the next 12 months I look forward to working with you in serving the public to the very best of our ability. I hope you have a very successful conference and may I thank you once again for giving me this opportunity to meet you today and to put on record my deep appreciation for your work in these difficult times.
Thank you.