It is about 34%.

John Bruton will always be the defining figure of the Fine Gael Party in County Meath. In his 35 years as a Meath TD, he provided leadership on every single issue. His impact will continue because Bruton values will always be at the heart of Fine Gael. He knew every inch of County Meath, and it seems he knew every family - or, indeed, every family knew him personally. He combined an appetite for his roles as a national legislator and a European statesman with a huge commitment to individual constituents, and canvas…

The amendments in this grouping all follow on from previous amendments made to the Bill arising in this House arising from proposals made by Deputies on the issue of the prominence of the Irish language in the names of the newly established bodies. Those Report Stage amendments provided for Irish language names for the various policing bodies in line with the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021. At the time, I did not include the reformed Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, with the amendments to the oth…

The official branding will have to have the Irish and English on equal terms. While I cannot dictate at every stage how somebody refers to themselves, I will most likely be referring to Fiosrú. It is about ongoing engagement to make sure one is not used more than the other. As the Deputy said, it is a simple name people will be able to use, understand and relate to. It should be no issue for people to use the Irish word.

That would be the intention.

This is an amendment put forward by Senators Ruane, Black and Flynn, which I supported in the Seanad. It relates to section 16 of the Bill, specifically to the list of matters that persons recommended by the Public Appointments Service for appointment as members of the new Garda board are to have experience and expertise in. The amendment adds data protection to sub-paragraph (b), in addition to organisational governance, management or public administration. With the board being a new entity I agree that such exper…

The amendments in this grouping are necessary to bring certain provisions in this Bill in line with the requirements of the 2019 EU directive on debt and insolvency issues. I was advised that as previously drafted the provisions in the Bill, which bar a person who is bankrupt from the Garda board, the policing and community safety authority and office of the independent examiner, were not in line with the directive. These amendments ensure that a person who has been discharged from bankruptcy will be eligible for c…

The amendments in this grouping concern sections 32 and 225, which provide for different types of judicial-led inquiries under the Bill. During debates on the Bill in the Dáil, it was noted by Deputies Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and Brendan Howlin that the sections providing for judicial inquiry lacked any penalties for non-compliance of the respective judge leading the inquiry. I subsequently received further legal advice, which essentially concurred with the Deputies and confirmed that the initial approach of relying on t…

This is another amendment proposed by Senators Ruane, Black and Flynn. It amended section 36(1), which requires the Garda Commissioner to keep the Minister and the Secretary General of the Department of Justice fully informed of certain matters. The amendment added an additional paragraph requiring the Garda Commissioner to inform the Minister of significant developments that might reasonably be expected to adversely affect the performance of An Garda Síochána. A general requirement under section 36(1)( d ) is alre…

The amendments in this grouping concern section 54, which deals with the appointment of members of Garda staff. Although this matter was previously discussed at length in the Dáil, by way of background I will briefly note that the Commission on the Future of Policing recommended that Garda staff would be directly recruited into An Garda Síochána and that An Garda Síochána should be seen and treated as a single organisation with a single workforce who share a common mission. Section 54(1) allows the Commissioner to …

The amendments in grouping five are technical in nature. They relate to section 55, which provides for the making of a superannuation scheme or schemes by the Garda Commissioner for members of Garda staff where members of Garda staff do not become members of the single public service scheme. They also concern section 112, which performs a similar function with regard to the new national office for community safety. The amendments followed on from discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Devel…

The amendments in this grouping relate to section 75, which sets out the functions of the audit committee of the new proposed Garda board. Their purpose was to correct a drafting oversight. They align certain provisions regarding what matters the audit committee will provide advice on. As initially drafted, the committee was obliged to advise the Garda Commissioner on governance and financial matters, but only to advise the board on financial matters. The amendments simply ensure that the audit committee will also …

The amendments in this grouping concern section 114, which provides for the making of regulations to establish new local community safety partnerships, LCSPs. These new partnerships will, on a phased basis, replace the existing joint policing committees, JPCs, with a new broader type of body, built around a key principle of the Bill that community safety is not just a matter for An Garda Síochána. While the local authority, the county and city councillors, in any area will undoubtedly continue to play a key role in…

This amendment concerns section 118, which places certain duties on public service bodies in respect of improving community safety. The amendment simply ensures that public bodies must now include in their strategic plans an assessment of the issues affecting community safety that is relevant to its functions. The body will also be required to include the actions or proposed actions in place to address those issues. The duty will also include a reporting element via the body's annual report.

The amendments in this grouping provide for the deletion of section 165 in its entirety along with any other references to that section contained in the Bill. In short, section 165 provided for the transfer by ministerial order of staff of the current Garda Síochána Inspectorate to the new policing security and community safety authority. At the time of drafting, it was considered a necessary provision to allow for the transfer of Garda Síochána Inspectorate staff who had been appointed under section 119 of the Gar…

The amendment was proposed by Senators Ruane, Black and Flynn and it is in the same vein as amendment No. 2. It sought to include data protection as a listed area of desired expertise for membership of the new policing and community safety authority. As I had supported the Senators' amendment with regard to ensuring that data protection was included in the criteria required of the Garda board members, I also saw it fitting to support this amendment.

The amendments in grouping 9 are ministerial and are technical in nature. They are necessary to update collective citations for other Acts mentioned in sections 155 and 165 of the Bill. References to the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004 will now become references to the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 to 2022. This is on foot of the provisions of the Local Government (Maternity Protection and Other Measures for Members of Local Authorities) Act 2022. References to the Parental Leave Acts 1998 to 2019 will now…

This set of amendments relates to the recommendation of a person for appointment to the role of police ombudsman. They concern section 172 and the appointment of the police ombudsman under section 174, which relates to the terms and conditions of office, and the insertion of a new section 173. Following the conclusion of the Dáil debate on this Bill, I gave further consideration to a number of matters relating to the significant reforms of the GSOC given effect via this Bill. Operationally, the police ombudsman wil…

The amendment relates to section 201, which provides for the establishment of arrangements for the handling of complaints which the police ombudsman has deemed suitable for resolution by An Garda Síochána. The amendment relates specifically to subsection (3)(g), which provides that the arrangements established under the section shall include "the provision, where appropriate, of advice, guidance or training to members of garda personnel who are the subject of complaints". The amendment deletes the word "advice", wh…

Under the term "guidance", not "advice", yes.