I can understand the Deputy’s frustration regarding the cancellation of the 999 calls, but I do not agree with some of the statements he has made. He will be aware that this issue was initially identified within An Garda Síochána last October as part of its internal processes. An Garda Síochána wrote to the Secretary General of my Department, on 4 December 2020, to inform the Department for the first time that a number of 999 calls had been cancelled on the An Garda Síochána computer-aided dispatch system and that …

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. GSOC is the body specifically established, designed and equipped to investigate complaints of alleged criminality or misconduct by members of An Garda Síochána. I assure the Deputy that GSOC has extensive powers under the provisions of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 to perform this function. If GSOC believes a suspected criminal offence may have been committed by any member of An Garda Síochána, it is obliged to conduct a full criminal investigation. GSOC's designated office…

The Deputy mentioned the proposed policing, security and community safety Bill, which will be subject to further consideration by the Oireachtas. It will strengthen and reform the oversight and accountability of An Garda Síochána. Some of the proposed reforms include moving to a single ombudsman model; granting a separate Vote for the ombudsman; having an expanded remit to include Garda staff; requiring all complaints other than minor service level ones to be investigated by the ombudsman; and introducing a new str…

I said in my initial answer that GSOC has the power to bring criminal charges against members of An Garda Síochána following the outcome of its investigations, where GSOC deems this to be the appropriate course of action. These are powers that are not available to other forms of independent statutory inquiries such as a commission of investigation or a tribunal of inquiry. With regard to the recent report in the newspapers about the pay claim of superintendents and chief superintendents, the Workplace Relations Com…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As he will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including the Garda estate. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these matters. The Deputy will also be aware the Office of Public Works, OPW, has responsibility for the provision and maintenance of Garda accommodation. Works on Garda accommodation are progressed by the Garda authorities, working in close co-operation with the OPW. The deter…

The Deputy knows the history of the site. As I said, An Garda Síochána has invested and continues to invest significant funding in refurbishing the Garda station in Sligo. This includes the provision of new locker facilities and the complete upgrade of the three floors in the building, including the public office. Further upgrade works are under way, including the provision of a new cell block to allow for additional capacity and improved custody management facilities. The planned works include accommodation for th…

The Deputy should listen to the answer when I am giving it to him but he is not listening to me.

The fact is that the Garda Commissioner has responsibility for Garda accommodation. We provide the budget of almost €2 billion to An Garda Síochána and it is up to the Commissioner to decide the various investments and priorities across the country. On this Garda station, a site was bought and it was decided not to move there. Instead, the existing building is being renovated and I understand that works are proposed to develop the remainder of the station. These works are being assessed between Garda estate managem…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Tackling serious crime, including drug trafficking and the supply of illicit drugs, are key priorities for the Government. As he will be aware, there is strong ongoing co-operation between An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, PSNI. The cross-Border joint agency task force, JATF, was established under the 2015 Fresh Start agreement to bring a concerted and enhanced effort to tackle cross-jurisdictional organised crime. The task force is led by senio…

A key aspect of co-operation is the joint agency task force, as I described. It is led by senior officers in the PSNI, An Garda Síochána and other key partner agencies. As I said, among the top priorities for the task force is drug-related crime. As the Deputy knows, there is great cross-Border co-operation. An example of this between the two jurisdictions is an annual event called the cross-Border seminar on organised crime, which is organised by the two justice departments and the two police services and focuses …

I agree with the Deputy. As we both know, a huge amount of work is going on in counties Cavan and Monaghan. I am assured by the Garda Commissioner, however, that the distribution of resources among the various Garda divisions is kept under constant review in light of emerging crime trends and operational needs. As of the end of May this year, 389 Garda members and 58 Garda staff were assigned to the Cavan-Monaghan division. These figures represent increases of 22% and 53%, respectively, compared to the end of 2015 …

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. As he is aware, in December 2018 the Government published A Policing Service for the Future, which is a detailed four-year plan to implement the landmark report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. The plan was developed in co-operation with stakeholders from across the public service including, in particular, An Garda Síochána. The policing reform implementation programme office is based in the Department of the Taoiseach and works closely with my Depar…

I acknowledge that the Deputy has pursued this issue for a considerable time now. I am informed by the Garda authorities that as of 31 May last, 797 Garda members have been reassigned to operational roles and their previous roles assigned to Garda civilian staff. This includes 51 so far this year, and I am informed that the targeted number of garda reassignments for this year stands at 400. I am further informed that there will be a focus this year on the reassignment potential from the public office roles in Garda…

I agree with the Deputy that there are certain duties, such as security in the Courts Service, that could be carried out by a private company rather than using the valuable time of gardaí. As of 31 May there were 81 Garda staff assigned to the Limerick division. This represents an increase of more than 58% since December 2015, when there were 51 Garda staff members assigned to the division. An Garda Síochána has been allocated an unprecedented budget of €1.952 billion for 2021. This level of funding is enabling sus…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. At the outset, I would like to acknowledge the pain and trauma experienced by all families of missing persons. I am deeply conscious of how difficult life is for loved ones who simply do not know what has happened to their relative. My Department is committed to working with all relevant State bodies to help more families find their missing relatives. As the Deputy will be aware, the national DNA database, administered by Forensic Science Ireland, FSI, has been a signific…

I agree with the Deputy. A family who has a missing person they cannot find wonder every day whether that person will return, even though in their heart of hearts they know the person will not. It is a very difficult time for them. The issue of unidentified remains has received coverage in recent months following the identification of the remains of Mr. Denis Walsh in February this year. While only identified this year, Mr. Walsh's body was recovered on Inis Mór in 1996. We can only imagine the heartache that his f…

Considerable progress has been made by FSI. The DNA testing of families has helped the agency to make matches in particular cases. To date, the remains of 53 missing persons have been identified thanks to the DNA database. Through FSI, there is a great deal of focus on this issue. We will continue working with the families. There is an annual day of commemoration, and some of the samples taken on those days have helped to make matches with cases. I agree with the Deputy that this is a difficult issue. We will conti…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As she will be aware, most of the contracts for local employment services have been in place since the 1990s and have simply been rolled over on an annual basis. Good governance and public procurement rules require that my Department does not continue the existing process of simply rolling over contracts for employment services. As a first step in moving to a procurement approach that complies with all of the necessary standards, the Department recently issued a request fo…

I assure the Deputy that there is no privatisation happening and it is wrong to say there is. The vast majority of marks in the request for tender, that is, more than 75% of them, are based on the quality of the service and the experience and track record of the tenderers in providing supports to those furthest from the labour market. I have spoken to several local providers that have seen the request for tender and think it is fair. What is more, they are confident in their ability to put together good bids for th…

There has been extensive consultation with every provider across the country. We are now expanding this service. This is the first phase of that. We went through it with the providers before the request for tender went out. There has been a lot of explanation and I do not understand why the providers will have to employ a person to put in the requests for tender because they should have a good idea as to what they need to do at this stage. They should be confident in terms of the service delivery they provide. We a…