As I have just outlined to Deputy Daly, this is a priority for me in my engagement with the Garda Commissioner and his team. We are absolutely committed to building stronger, safer communities, and the role and the strength of the Garda will be key to that. We have allocated a budget of €2 billion for this year for An Garda Síochána. When it comes to recruitment, therefore, money is not an issue. We have funding for new recruits entering Templemore every 11 weeks. I can confirm that there are currently 370 recruits…

Absolutely. It is a net increase overall, but we need it to be greater. Our Templemore figures were moving in a positive direction for two years. Unfortunately, though, they have slowed down.

The only way we will increase those numbers is by getting as many gardaí through Templemore as possible.

Absolutely, but as can be seen from previous years, it takes time to start building momentum and to get a steady flow of candidates through Templemore. I agree that the 92, 135 and 154 are not the numbers we had hoped for, but we are moving in the right direction. In previous years, the situation progressed in this way and numbers came through steadily. We meet the Garda Commissioner and his team weekly. There is a lengthy process. The Public Appointments Service has to interview all of the candidates and ensure th…

A number of steps are being taken to try to identify why members are leaving, but I must stress that over the past seven years the average number of members leaving and choosing different career paths has been between 0.5% and 0.7%. It is at just under 1% now, so there has not been a major loss of gardaí. There has been an increase in recruitment. There was a significant influx many years ago when the college was open. Unfortunately, we are now in a period when a larger number of gardaí are retiring than in previou…

It is not that people have not applied. Rather, it is a question of going through the process. It will take time to achieve a steady flow. We can see that while it is not happening as quickly as I would like, the numbers are increasing and we are reaching the stage where we will have a steady flow. That is the priority. We are performing exit interviews with everyone who leaves and we are trying to identify other ways in which we can encourage people. This has to do with the €2 billion for the Garda, body-worn came…

The Deputy is aware, as he has acknowledged it previously, that safety is not just a matter for the Department and members of An Garda Síochána. The Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland recognised that community safety is not solely the responsibility of the Garda. Rather, it is a whole-of-government responsibility. This is key to the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill that we will debate tomorrow. Dublin’s north inner city is one of three pilot locations for the new local community safety part…

The role of the wardens will be to support gardaí and the community and not to arrest. Their role is to engage and observe. To say that nothing is happening is the perception or narrative that is being put out. We opened the new Garda station on O'Connell Street. This was something that we had prioritised to ensure there was visibility on our main thoroughfare. Since then there have been 417 individual proactive foot and mountain bike patrols. We have had 1,191 persons arrested, 2,366 charges and 930 summonses. We …

There is work under way. For example, Dublin City Council has given a commitment to look at the fact there is a consolidation of health services and supports, particularly for those with drug addiction problems in the city centre. It is examining what kind of impact this has on surrounding areas. We need to get this information first. Initial work was done on the time of day that street cleaning is carried out and whether there is a better time to do it. How do we make sure that our streets are clean? All of this f…

I thank the Deputy. I know this is something she has been interested in for some time and I know I have responded to her on this previously. Section 27 of the Act provides for the review to which her question refers. We commissioned an independent consultant to undertake the statutory review but there have been a number of reasons, more particularly her work to complete the familicide study, which meant it was not possible to conclude this in the timeframe. A particular individual was commissioned to focus on this …

I thank the Deputy and agree the review is extremely important. The person in question was commissioned to do this review first. Subsequently, the other person in question passed away and this person was asked to complete that. It took much longer than anybody thought it would. Without saying names or getting into details it took much longer to do the familicide study. Anybody who has looked at the report will see the magnitude of work involved in that. Yes, a decision could have been taken to make that change but …

The legislation, as the Deputy has said, has made significant changes. It was introduced to provide additional protection for people involved in prostitution. What we have seen in other jurisdictions is that the decriminalisation of brothel-keeping, which the Deputy and others have raised, actually creates a greater loophole that allows the likes of criminal gangs and others to profit but also to continue the abuse, particularly of women. I fully agree with the Deputy that it is vital to finish the report as quickl…

As the Deputy will be aware, tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is an absolute priority for me and the rest of the Government. One of the key and central elements of the new zero-tolerance strategy is the establishment of the agency. I have given a commitment to have it up and running in January 2024, and we are on track for that to happen. On 28 February, the Government approved the drafting of the Bill to provide for the establishment of the agency, and the general scheme of the Bill was publishe…

Nobody is more devastated to see the numbers than I am, given my commitment to trying to address this issue, but we need to ensure we are not just responding but also putting in place structures to deal with this in the longer term. This is where the agency will be vital. We are going to replicate existing structures, working with the agency. We have a committee chaired by the Taoiseach, and I, as Minister, working with all my colleagues across the various Departments, will respond to and feed into the work. The ag…

I firmly believe violence against women and girls is the biggest issue preventing equality, not just in Ireland but right across the globe. It is an issue people are dealing with throughout the world. It is not fair to say nothing has happened in 20-plus years. The previous strategy resulted in significant changes in this country by way of new laws, new polices and investment. There is much more we need to do. I am looking at the current strategy, the commitment that is there across all Departments, the engagement …

I assure the Deputy that the development of a substantial new Garda station and facilities on Dublin City Council lands at the corner of the R139 and the Malahide Road at Northern Cross is considered a strategic priority project by An Garda Síochána. The Office of Public Works, OPW, is engaged in ongoing positive interaction with the council, in consultation with An Garda Síochána, on the development of the site at Northern Cross. I am advised that the OPW has undertaken a high-level impact study of the site and a …

We have a significant capital plan under way at the moment. Funding for this year was €50 million, with a further €50 million allocated for next year and the subsequent year. I will be seeking an increase in that capital spend in the coming years. As set out in the Summer Economic Statement, there will be an increase in the capital ceiling for the NDP. There is a variety of different projects under the capital plan, including new builds and refurbishments. Some are much larger than others and quite significant. Thi…

I might have to get back to Deputy Lawless on some of the detail of his question. The Northern Cross project is a commitment under the national development plan. It is included in the indicative schedule of works under the Garda capital plan, which runs from 2023 to 2030. The location of the site is the subject of discussion not just between the Garda and the OPW but also Dublin City Council because the proposed site at the Northern Cross is on lands currently owned by the council. There is a huge amount of work an…

As the Deputy will be aware and as I have mentioned a number of times this evening, my priority is to ensure that we continue to increase the number of gardaí, that we do not just reach the target of 15,000 but go beyond it and that we ensure that every community benefits from that increase in numbers. Of course, it is a matter for the Garda Commissioner to decide where gardaí are allocated but he will always look at populations, crime trends and areas where the ratio or percentage is lower. In that regard, over re…

I talk to the gardaí in my county and engage with them at every level, from the new recruits coming into our county to the highest level, our chief superintendent. I understand that what we need is more gardaí. We also need to make sure that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs, whether that is through capital investment or investment in vehicles, handheld devices, CCTV or body-worn cameras, in respect of which we are bringing through legislation. All of these help measures gardaí respond to the issues the …