Cathaoirleach,
I move the following amendment to the motion:-
To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following:-
"Has confidence in the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan
Shatter T.D., and commends him for the effective manner in which he is
discharging his Ministerial functions.".
Introduction
Cathaoirleach,
Unfortunately Minister Shatter is unavailable and I welcome the opportunity
to come before this House today to defend his record, and that of the
Government, against this misguided and nonsensical motion. The motion is
quite clearly a piece of political opportunism of the worst sort.
At the outset I should say that I am disappointed by the fact that the
Fianna Fáil Senators have tabled this motion. In the first place, the
motion is to a very large extent a re-run of a very recent and similar
attempt to attack the way in which the Minister and the Government are
handling difficult and complex issues within his Ministerial brief. As
that attempt, in the form of another proposed motion, was overwhelmingly
rejected by this House two weeks ago, I do not see what real purpose can be
served by seeking to cover pretty much the same ground so soon again.
Quite frankly the Fianna Fáil Senators could have found a more meaningful
and appropriate use for their Private Members’ time, but that is the
decision they have made.
Just as importantly, there is no substance to the issues that have been
raised in the motion and what the Fianna Fáil Senators have sought to do is
merely to string together a set of topics on which they hope to garner some
publicity. Such an approach is ill-advised and it is designed simply to
undermine the excellent work being undertaken by the Government in the
relevant areas. Also, but not surprisingly, the motion does not take
account of the reality of the very difficult economic conditions facing the
country. In that context it is easy to understand why the Senators who
have tabled the motion would wish to ignore our current and extremely harsh
financial situation, especially when it is due in large measure to failures
on the part of the last Fianna Fáil-led government.
As the bulk of the specific matters referred to in the Private Members’
motion relate to Minister Shatter’s functions as Minister for Justice and
Equality, I will deal with them first. I will then address the relevant
issues falling within his remit as Minister for Defence.
Garda finance and resources
Members of the House, the legacy Fianna Fáil were happy to bequeath to the
Minister for Justice, a series of expenditure ceilings for the Justice
sector which, if applied, they would have resulted in devastating cuts in
Garda services which he, as Minister for Justice, would not and could not
stand over.
The Fianna Fáil National Recovery Plan was unacceptable and would certainly
have put the Garda Commissioner in an impossible position. Fortunately, the
Minister was able to secure additional funding over the three year period,
2012-2014, to ensure that the Garda Commissioner and indeed An Garda
Síochána could continue to deliver an effective policing service.
In summary, for the Justice Sector in 2012, Minister Shatter secured €2.243
billion which was an additional €118 million over and above the Fianna Fáil
allocation of €2.125 billion. For 2013 he secured funding of €2.2 billion
which was €191 million over and above the Fianna Fáil allocation of €2.009
billion, and for 2014, he secured funding of €2.065 billion which was €105
million over and above the original Fianna Fáil allocation of €1.96
billion. With the Fianna Fail National Recovery Plan the Garda
Commissioner and An Garda Síochána would have stood with an average of €90
million less each year for 2012, 2013, and 2014.
The Minister also made additional funding available last year and in 2013
for the purchase of transport for the Garda fleet for which no provision of
any nature was made in 2009. In that context, 213 new Garda vehicles were
purchased in 2012 and the dedicated funding of €5 million in 2013 will
allow for the purchase of a significant number of new vehicles this year.
With regard to Garda recruitment, the position is that recruitment to An
Garda Síochána was ended by Minister Shatter’s 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. The last government
planned to reduce Garda numbers to 13,000 by 31st December 2014. The
Minister is reviewing the position regarding Garda numbers in the light of
an estimated reduction to just over 13,000 by the end of 2013, and, in this
context, he will be bringing proposals to Cabinet in the coming weeks. He
does not want the Garda numbers to fall below 13,000
I must also mention the discussions which have concluded recently on a
revision to the Croke Park Agreement. Everyone who is involved in this
process has recognised the perilous state in which Fianna Fáil have left
our finances. It is only through the combined efforts of all parties who
engaged in these discussions that we will begin to restore our fiscal
sovereignty.
Minister Shatter did not choose the appalling financial position in which
he have had to operate as Minister for Justice. However he has done
everything possible to maintain the resources available to An Garda
Síochána at the highest possible level. There is a budget of over €1.4
billion available for the Force in 2013 and, by any standards, this is a
substantial amount.
Minister Shatter is 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.
Garda station closures
At this stage I will address the question of the closure of some Garda
stations which is referred to in the Fianna Fáil motion.
39 Garda Stations were closed in 2012. 8 of these had not been opened for a
number of years and many only for a short period during each day. Indeed
the same party which is now proposing a motion of no confidence in me for
agreeing to formally close these stations presided over their continued
existence on paper only in another attempt to fool the people. The closure
of these stations simply recognised reality, a reality concealed by my
immediate predecessors. Following a comprehensive assessment by the Garda
Commissioner of the Garda Station network, a further 100 were listed for
closure in the Commissioner’s Policing Plan for 2013. 95 of these stations
closed on 31st January 2013 and 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, where
the transport and communications infrastructure has been transformed beyond
recognition. The Garda Síochána have a class-leading police computer
system, a state-of-the-art digital radio system, and a transport fleet
which is currently receiving significant investment.
Of the 100 stations on the list for closure, 98% opened part-time, 94%
opened for 3 hours a day or less, 88% were manned by 1 Garda and only 5%
manned by 3 or more Garda personnel.
By way of comparison, there are 83 police stations in Northern Ireland for
its population of 1.4 million and 340 stations in Scotland for its
population of 5.2 million. In the London Metropolitan area, 66 police
stations are due to close, leaving 73 police stations open to the public.
These figures speak for themselves.
It is the Garda Commissioner’s professional opinion, following a
comprehensive national assessment carried out over a period of 12 months,
that a country the size of Ireland, with a population of 4.5 million, does
not, in the 21st Century, need 700 Garda stations. It is nothing less than
scaremongering to suggest that reducing that network to 564 Garda stations
is a cause for fear and anxiety. It would be entirely wrong for the
Minister for Justice, to second guess the Commissioner’s judgement and
expertise in this matter.
It is unfortunate and regrettable that some public representatives,
particularly in the ranks of Fianna Fáil, have been fuelling public fear
regarding the impact of the closure of Garda stations. In fact, Minister
Shatter has been advised by the Garda Commissioner that Garda station
closures in 2013 will result in an extra 61,000 Garda patrol hours. Are the
detractors seriously telling the public that it is preferable to have
Gardaí sitting behind desks in stations rather than being on patrol?
Some have sought to paint the Garda station consolidation process as an
attack on rural Ireland. However, the 2 largest stations listed for
closure in 2013 are Stepaside in Minister Shatter’s own constituency of
Dublin South and Kill O’ the Grange in the Tánaiste’s constituency of Dun
Laoghaire. In 2012 the 3 largest Garda Stations to be closed were
Harcourt Terrace, Whitehall and Dalkey, all of which were also in Dublin.
Garda Stations come under the control of the Office of Public Works and
Minister 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.
Commissioner Callinan has stated that 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 throughout the country.
In addition, An Garda Síochána has recently acquired a number of vehicles
which are being converted into mobile Garda offices and it is planned that
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.
All Gardaí have a part to play in community policing and currently 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.
Minister Shatter’s Department , along with the 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. The
programme has 1,300 local groups. The close involvement of Gardaí with the
Community Alert Programme was further underlined in January this year by
the signing of an updated Memorandum of Understanding between An Garda
Síochána and Muíntir na Tíre who administer the programme. Furthermore, a
new Garda Community Crime Prevention Programmes booklet has been published
to support the establishment and operation of Community Alert,
Neighbourhood Watch and similar local crime prevention initiatives.
Delivery of Garda Services
An Garda Síochána has risen to the challenges that it faces in the current
economic climate. Change is being delivered in cooperation with the members
and staff in the Garda Síochána.
Without doubt, the single biggest transformation project in the Garda
Síochána, and arguably in the public service, has been the development and
implementation in 2012 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 doing them more effectively.
Crime
In response to allegations about increased crime levels across the country
- the most recent available crime statistics, published by the Central
Statistics Office, for the 12 months ending on 30th September 2012, show
reductions in 12 of the 14 crime groups. There have been reductions in the
numbers of crimes against the person including homicide offences, sexual
offences and assault and related offences. Public order and damage to
property offences are also down as are drug offences and weapons and
explosives offences – details of all these reductions have already been
reported to the House. Burglaries, however, increased by 7.9% during the
period.
Operation Fiacla was set up by the Garda Commissioner and is particularly
focused on identifying and targeting mobile gangs involved in burglaries
around the country. and is extremely effective. In the period to the end
of January 2013 it resulted in 3,903 persons being arrested and 2,142
persons being charged. 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
together with the robust response of the Gardaí in tackling gangland crime
and the activities of paramilitary organisations, are clear evidence that,
while the Gardaí cannot avoid the economic realities, they have been more
than able to continue to respond effectively to crime. Indeed the most
recent crime figures show that the number of aggravated burglaries is down
when compared with the previous 12 months.
Gangland violence
Everybody shares the widespread outrage at gang related criminal activity.
The Minister is in on-going contact with the Garda Commissioner about all
aspects of serious crime and the Gardaí 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, and especially the drugs trade which is at the
heart of much of its profits.
We shouldn’t underestimate the difficulties the Gardaí face in trying to
prevent gangland killings and related crimes and in bringing the
perpetrators to justice. These crimes are carefully planned and are
carried out by people who are very familiar with criminal and forensic
investigation techniques. Moreover, despite the clear risk to themselves,
members of gangs will not generally cooperate with Garda investigations.
Despite these difficulties the Gardaí have been able to bring people before
the courts, particularly in relation to a number of high profile killings
in the past couple of years, although it will be some time before those
cases are disposed of.
This is not a budgetary matter. 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 than they are now.
There is already very strong anti-gangland legislation in place. Minister
Shatter has made it clear to the Garda Commissioner that, if he feels there
are other measures which might be taken in this area, Minister Shatter will
look at that very positively.
Criminal terrorism
Despite the many positive developments that there have been over recent
years in Northern Ireland, the Gardaí have never relented in their efforts
to counteract criminal groups whose only objective is to drag our island
back to a dark past. The shared objective of the Government and the
authorities in Northern Ireland is to enhance community safety on the whole
of this island. The Minister has asked me to assure the House that we will
continue, in co-operation with the authorities in Northern Ireland, 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.
Prison matters
The prison system also features in the Fianna Fáil motion. This is an area
in which Minister Shatter has adopted a very proactive approach since
becoming Minister for Justice and significant progress has already been
made within that relatively short period. As Senators will be aware, the
system faces many challenges, including pressure of numbers and the fact
that many of the prisons are very old. While these challenges are
significant, the Minister will continue to ensure that they are addressed
as effectively as possible.
The largest single allocation of the capital allocation to the Justice
Sector for 2012 was provided by Minister Shatter to fund the Prison Service
Building Programme. This significant capital investment underlines the
Government’s commitment to addressing the twin problems of overcrowding and
physical conditions within the prison estate. Refurbishment, including the
provision of in-cell sanitation, continues in Mountjoy Prison and approval
has been granted to the Prison Service to proceed with the project to
replace Cork Prison. The drafting of detailed plans for the replacement of
two outdated wings in Limerick Prison has also been approved.
A new Unit opened in December 2012 in the Dóchas Centre which provides an
additional 20 spaces. A new accommodation block at the Midlands Prison
became operational in late 2012 providing a potential 300 additional spaces
as well as additional work training and educational facilities.
The Minister has also actively pursued alternatives to custody. In that
context he has established a working group to conduct a strategic review of
penal policy. The group, which has a very wide remit, has been asked to
examine the role of penal policy in crime prevention, sentencing policies,
alternatives to custody, custodial accommodation and regimes, reintegration
and rehabilitation, and any special issues relating to female offenders and
prisoners.
Finally, the Minister is very much aware that the Prison Service has
actively engaged with the staff associations as part of the Public Service
Agreement 2010-2014. As part of a joint task review process, management and
staff representatives within the Prison Service are working effectively
together to implement the provisions of the Public Service Agreement. That
ongoing process is addressing every aspect of the operation of the prison
system and has resulted in the implementation of new daily task lists, new
staff rosters and new staff configurations in 7 establishments in 2012. In
addition another 4 prison development reports have been agreed and will be
implemented next month. Reports for the remaining 4 prisons are at an
advanced stage of completion.
Cooperation between management and staff within the Prison Service is at a
high level during this challenging period. This has been achieved through a
clear focus on communications facilitated through bilateral engagement with
the staff associations and the support of the Prisons Sector Group of the
Implementation Body. In addition, Senators may be aware that specific
measures relating to prison staff were incorporated in the proposals for
the revision of the Croke Park Public Service Agreement which have recently
been circulated by the Labour Relations Commission.
Defence issues
I will now deal with the element of the motion which is concerned with
Minister Shatter’s role as Minister for Defence. In that regard, his
primary objective in progressing the initiatives that have been taken has
been to focus on maintaining the operational capability of the Defence
Forces to fulfill all of the roles assigned by Government.
The consolidation of the barrack infrastructure has been a long term policy
in this respect. Moreover, the re-organisation of the Permanent Defence
Force has succeeded in freeing up personnel for operational duties and in
improving the overall effectiveness of the Force.
Reports and studies back to 1990 identified barrack closures as a
fundamental requirement towards improving military effectiveness and
efficiency. A total of fourteen barracks have been closed by successive
Governments over the past 14 years.
The total realised to-date in terms of sales of surplus property is
approximately €85m. This, together with income of €18m approx. from the
sale of other smaller military properties and married quarters has been
re-invested in a number of areas including:
· the provision of accommodation, training facilities
· the equipment modernisation programmes which involved major
acquisitions including, Light Tactical Armoured Vehicles, Mowag
Armoured Personnel Carriers, 8 helicopters and two new Offshore
Patrol vessels.
The Minister is committed to maintaining the capacity of the Defence Forces
and he is satisfied that the Defence Forces are currently fully capable of
meeting those tasks assigned to it.
Conclusion
To conclude - members of the Garda Síochána provide a vital service to the
public and they deserve the support of the public. A safe society is the
responsibility of every member of that society and not just the Gardaí.
The interconnection between Gardaí and community is a vital one in the
successful delivery of a policing service in Ireland. This Government will
not shirk in our responsibility to do everything we can to ensure that that
connection is not broken and that the best possible resources are made
available to An Garda Síochána.
Similarly, the Government will continue to pursue the development and
improvement of the prison system. That project has been a major priority
for Minister Shatter during his time as Minister for Justice and this will
continue to be the case.
In addition, Minister Shatter has worked very hard to ensure that the
Defence Forces will be fully capable of fulfilling their important tasks.
He is satisfied that this is the position and that it will be maintained.
As I have demonstrated very clearly, the Fianna Fáil motion is completely
without substance and, accordingly, I commend the amendment I have proposed
to this House.