-----that support and protect vulnerable people and at the same time, ensure the Garda is supported in the work it does.

As the Deputy rightly stated, I was asked a number of weeks ago by Senator Ahearn to meet a group of people. I am pleased to be meeting them today to hear their concerns. The Deputy is not right in saying that we are not providing support or investment for the Garda. More than €2 billion has been invested in An Garda Síochána in the budget this year. There has been an increase of 13% in the number of gardaí, with an increase of 10% specifically in Clonmel and an increase in civilian gardaí. That said, what I want t…

-----and be able to respond to them effectively, and that is exactly what I will do.

I apologise for not being here last night. I appreciate the opportunity to resume the debate where we left it last week. I thank Senator Ward for tabling amendment No. 19, which seeks to amend section 13. The Senator's amendment provides for similar matters concerning lay expertise and knowledge in an amended subsection (4). This version simply provides for a reordering of the four criteria. The way they were set out was for no particular reason. I can appreciate why Senator Ward has put them in a particular order,…

I appreciate that the amendment does not propose to change the substance of the Bill.

For the reasons I have outlined, we have tried to keep the criteria as broad as possible to ensure that persons who see that their area of expertise is not included will not feel they are excluded and cannot apply, whether that is environmental law or another area. I would argue that there is a huge focus on and need to have expertise in the area of family law, which raises the question of whether that should be included as well. Business, finance and public service cover as broad a range as possible, as well as th…

This amendment seeks to add an extra layer. Section 21 already provides that "The Government may remove a lay member from office [on] one or more of the grounds specified". There is a requirement for a resolution to be passed by each House of the Oireachtas, including the Seanad, before that is done. This additional safeguard is already in the Bill. I think that adding the committee on top of that would be overburdensome. I am not sure whether it is necessary at this stage. That it will have to go through both Hous…

I appreciate where Senator Hoey is coming from in outlining this issue. However, I share Senator McDowell's concerns. The amendment proposes to insert: "references to the improvement of diversity shall be construed to include improvement of representation of persons or classes...". How could that be done without having to ask each individual applicant in the interview process about his or her sexual orientation, religious belief or civil status? I am not sure that is where we want to be. It is obviously clearly set…

The answer is "Yes". We are setting out a clear process that will apply to every individual regardless of whether he or she is a sitting judge or a solicitor or barrister applying for the first time. Everyone will come through the same process. I appreciate that the Constitution sets out that the Government appoints judges. That is why I am not recommending that one name be put forward to the Minister or Government or that the three names be marked as the first, second and third preferences. I believe there should …

I will try my best to respond to many of the points that have been made. First, I will touch on an area Senator Ward focused on, namely the purpose and intention behind this Bill. One of the key elements of reform is the fact that any individual, be he or she a sitting barrister, solicitor, legal academic or a sitting judge, would go through the same process. I appreciate it is a departure from what is there but it is to ensure that we have a clear and transparent process that upholds what I believe has been a good…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. It is a priority for my Department to ensure that the courts are resourced in order that we can administer justice efficiently and effectively for everybody who comes into contact with the justice system. Judicial vacancies arise for a number of reasons, including retirements, promotion and, unfortunately, deaths in service. The aim is always to fill such vacancies at the earliest opportunity and a number have been filled recently. There are also a number of vacancies that …

The fact of the matter is that we do not have enough judges, and we need more. That is clear. That is why I set up the review group. It is important that we understand how many we need and why we need them. For that reason, the people the Deputy mentioned, who know exactly what is going on in the courts, have been part of this process. It is not just the OECD report. In its final report that will be published in the coming weeks, the group will set out exactly how many judges are needed. Pre-empting that report, ov…

Six additional High Court judges were appointed last year, an additional €2 million was provided to prepare the work for the group that will be publishing the report in the coming weeks, and there is additional funding for the modernisation programme and a very clear commitment to establish a new family court to take that very difficult situation out of the current structure. That is my commitment. I am making it very clear that we do not have enough judges and we need more. The Deputy touched on a point in his res…

I thank the Deputy. It is an important question. We all want to see more gardaí on our streets and dealing with different issues. That commitment is there. The budget this year was unprecedented, with €2.14 billion being allocated to the Garda. This will fund up to 1,000 new recruits next year and 400 additional Garda staff. In the year just gone, funding was allocated for 800 Garda staff. We will not be able to reach that full target because there have been some challenges in respect of Covid-19 at the Garda Colle…

The simple answer is "Yes", without straying into areas that are not my responsibility because it is very much the role of the Garda Commissioner to look at where there are challenges, issues and significant population increases. Population is not the only factor but, as the Deputy said, it must be taken into account. We have only properly seen the figures for the most recent census in the past few weeks. I have no doubt but that those figures will be reflected in how the new recruits entering Templemore in Novembe…

I am proud of the work the Garda does in County Meath. I regularly meet with teams and while I want to see more gardaí on the beat and in community policing in the county, it is important that there is a separation between me and the Commissioner, who decides where gardaí go. My role is to ensure that as many potential gardaí as possible enter Templemore and that the funding and resources are there. I must ensure the Garda has the necessary equipment, including cars, technology and the buildings it needs, to provid…

I thank the Deputy. The role played by members of An Garda Síochána is undoubtedly a challenging and sometimes dangerous one, as I have stressed many times this year. Gardaí leave their homes, families and communities every morning to put themselves in danger. We must acknowledge that. They often encounter adversarial circumstances in their day-to-day work, which can be dispiriting and difficult. Our communities are well supported by the Garda, which they appreciate. It is important to stress that while there are c…

The Deputy touched on a number of issues. Our gardaí are highly skilled and they are sought in many different fields, as the Deputy said. As we move to a situation where we have specific teams and units, such as in the Garda National Immigration Bureau, GNIB, fraud or domestic violence, they become more skilled and expert in their area and it is only natural that people will try to take them from us. The numbers of people who have not just retired but who have moved away have been somewhat steady. To compare last y…

The intention is that we will have 1,000 next year. Beyond that, we have to look at the capacity within Templemore, but if we were to have 1,000 with 400 civilian staff on a continuous basis, that would bolster the overall number. I am clear that I do not think 15,000 is enough because the population is growing and we need more. Specifically in relation to the programme the other night, Operation Citizen was launched in response to challenges in our city centre. I think other parts of the country have replicated th…

Whether it is antisocial behaviour, crime or wider issues we are dealing with, we need to ensure we have that multi-agency approach. We have seen this in the task force in the north inner city, the Vivian Guerin report on Drogheda and, more recently, the piloting of community safety partnerships. This is a structure that works. With the support of Government, it brings State agencies together with An Garda Síochána, local communities and local businesses. We are asking communities what resources they need to keep t…