During the most recent recruitment campaign, over 5,000 people applied so the Public Appointments Service has a significant number of people to go through. It is obviously not just dealing with An Garda Síochána but the entire public sector. I know there have even been difficulties in recruiting people to the Public Appointments Service so its capacity to deal not just with its own recruitment campaign but with many others is limited. A significant amount of work has been done to expand and the Public Appointments …

It is not possible to give a definitive timeline. If a significant number apply at the same time, they must go through the initial process but there may be an issue with someone failing the fitness test or medical, or an issue with vetting abroad. We cannot say whether someone will come back from another police jurisdiction in a matter of weeks or months. It is very difficult to put a timeline on it but obviously we would like a process to be done as quickly as possible. With regard to the challenge we have for mem…

To respond to Senator Keogan's point, I do not think we have any stations sitting idle or that are not being used or are not necessary. We are renovating and reopening stations not only in Dublin but throughout the country.

How do we look at who takes up this accommodation? It is not something being actively looked at with regard to how it would be applied, who would get the accommodation, for what length of time and whether it would apply only to gardaí. A series of questions would have to be answered. A question was asked on pensions. This comes under the remit of the Department of Finance or the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. Any change to pensions for gardaí would mean changes more…

There may be a further technical amendment to this section and I would like to flag it now. Amendments Nos. 37 and 38 relate to section 54 of the Bill on the appointment of members of Garda staff. By way of background, the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland recommended that Garda staff be recruited directly into An Garda Síochána and that An Garda Síochána be seen and treated as a single organisation with a single workforce who share a common mission. Section 54(1) allows the Garda Commissioner to recr…

I am as keen for negotiations and engagement to start as both Senators present, and most importantly, as the staff. As recently as last week when I engaged with them, the challenge was finding dates that suited everyone. A number of bodies need to be around the table and the dates that had been set or proposed were not matching others' availability. It is a matter of trying to identify the dates that suit everybody involved and moving forward with the process. Nothing has been agreed or signed off on - I was clear …

While I cannot give an exact date, the next Stage of the Bill will be weeks away and I have every intention of making sure negotiations start, or that dates are set, well before that.

All the amendments in this grouping relate to pension matters. Section 55 provides for the making of a superannuation scheme or schemes by the Garda Commissioner for members of Garda staff where such members of Garda staff do not become members of the single public service pension scheme. Section 112 will perform a similar function with regard to the national office for community safety. The need for such schemes may arise for persons joining An Garda Síochána or the new national office who may be existing civil or…

First of all, I reiterate the view shared by many that the rioting and violent disorder we saw in Dublin on 23 November was a disgrace. As the Deputy knows, those horrific scenes followed the tragic knife attack outside Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire that lunchtime. Again, I am sure Deputy Daly and others will join me in wishing the victims of that attack, especially the five-year-old girl and her carer, a speedy recovery. I also commend the Garda Commissioner and all the gardaí involved throughout that day on their st…

I thank the Deputy. While I acknowledge that the number of resignations this year is slightly higher, our percentage of gardaí is higher than other police jurisdictions. In saying that, we need to ensure everything that can be done to identify why people are leaving is done. I met the Garda Commissioner, the head of HR and other members today. They are currently working on exit interviews. More than 100 have taken place and the Garda will soon be in a position to be able to present me with a full report. A number o…

To the Deputy's last point, it has been made clear to me that anybody who is coming from a separate jurisdiction, whether in the outer part of Dublin, a rural community or a county outside Dublin, is doing so in his or her own free time. I know there is a concern that an increased presence in the city centre is taking away from other areas. If gardaí are coming from counties Mayo, Waterford or Donegal, they are doing so in their spare time. We need to make sure of the overall numbers and ensure that not everybody i…

I thank the Deputy. The events which took place in our capital city highlight the threats posed by violent political extremism. As he said, messages of hate spread online resulted in manifestations of physical violence on our city streets. It is clear that social media companies have an important responsibility to resource and operate robust systems of detection, including the timely removal of harmful content. I have said clearly that it has been relayed to me that some companies engaged better than others. Some c…

We probably all agree that social media platforms have played a positive role in our lives in general and in how we communicate with each other and stay in touch with friends. However, they also pose significant challenges and threats. The negativity we are seeing on social media platforms has grown quickly. One of the biggest challenges is identifying what is harmful content and what is illegal content. The people the Deputy has referenced as instigators and agitators know where that line is and know not to cross …

As I said, this is an extremely difficult space to try to manage and monitor, particularly where there is a grey area as regards what is harmful and what is not or what is a criminal offence and what is not, although the latter should be much clearer. What is really important is that we do not just come at this from an enforcement point of view but that the social media companies take a proactive role in making sure the standards that they set for their online communities are met and that they are being proactive i…

I understand that tables may be provided to the Deputy. What I have here is the breakdown across the Garda regions of the average number of gardaí who were absent because of ordinary illness and those who were absent because they were injured on duty. For quarter 3 of 2019, the figure for ordinary illness was 1,743 and while it has varied in subsequent years, the figure for quarter 3 of 2023 is 1,962. Up until 31 October 2023, the figure was considerably lower, at 830. Obviously the figures vary but one has to look…

I do not have those exact details but I will certainly try to get them for the Deputy. I am very conscious of the distressing scenes that members have to deal with on a daily basis, from road traffic incidents to scenes of suicide, as well as dealing with situations such as those we saw two weeks ago. A number of different measures and supports have been put in place. In fact, from the first meeting I had with the Garda representative associations over three years ago, and every year that I meet with them prior to …

I do not have an exact figure for what we will have by the end of the year because the acceptances are still coming in and the offers are still going out for the class that will start on 27 December. I know we will have between 700 and 800 but I do not have the finalised figure yet. We know that between 700 and 800 will have gone into the college this year. What we have always said is that we will have five classes and the 27 December class will obviously be the fifth one. Of course, we want as many trainees as pos…

The numbers we have are certainly not where I would like them to be. Due to the fact that the college was closed to new recruits, it meant no new recruits were going through the college for a period of almost two years. This means we are approximately 1,000 short of where we should be and certainly where I would like to be. That is a challenge. It poses a challenge to the overall running and management of An Garda Síochána. In saying that, our figures are higher than they were a number of years prior to the Covid-1…

This is a challenge for new recruits when they come out. They only find out where they are going relatively close to when they finish. It is for that very reason the Commissioner needs to be agile and needs to be able to respond to issues in certain areas as they emerge. Where resources are required, that is where people are directed to. As I said, even the most recent class in Templemore is coming out a month early. That is not something they might have planned for or anticipated but they are responding to a need …

To assure the Deputy on the retention issue, exit interviews are being done. I will have a full report, as I said, in the new year. When it comes to the pay talks, I am obviously not around the table. I can certainly advocate to make sure the Garda representative organisations are around the table. That was done at the last round of talks, and again in this round, to make sure they are there and around the table in a way that they have not been in previous years. Anything that is decided, or a decision that is take…