Will the Deputy let me answer the question? What the public is concerned about is the quality of the garda on the street. Fortunately, the quality of the gardaí on the street in this country is excellent. They are fully vetted, more than any other official in the public service. They are vetted thoroughly. What is happening is we are changing the sequencing of the process. The reason we are doing that is to try to speed it up. Part of the problem is the fact that many people have spent time abroad. They have been i…

Let me finish the answer. Rather than saying to those individuals that they cannot start at Templemore until we have thoroughly got information about them, we are letting them start and then getting the information. We are getting fully vetted gardaí at the end of the process.

I thank the Deputy for his question. It is important that policymakers, including Ministers, keep a close watch on the law in respect of bail. I note the answer the Deputy got, which stated that 40,348 crimes were carried out in 2024 while persons were on bail. Like him, I thought that was extremely high. I then asked for a breakdown of a description of the nature of the crimes. Of the crimes committed while people were on bail, 20% were in respect of theft from shops. That is approximately 8,000 crimes. Five thous…

Serious offences committed while people are on bail should trigger my interest and that of other policymakers. The offences I outlined, including theft from shops, public order offences and drunkenness offences, are the offences committed by people on bail. With the greatest of respect to the Deputy, I do not think they are the issues he is concerned about. He is more concerned about serious offences. The percentage of individuals who are now in custody and are not on bail has increased significantly in recent year…

I do not have the information in respect of the Deputy's question on the other 41% and I apologise for that. If the Deputy asks another parliamentary question, that information may or may not be available. I am not sure at present. I note what the Deputy stated about the increase in figures between 2016 and 2024. Our population has increased so significantly during that period that it is not surprising there has been an increase. On reviewing the operation of bail and bail laws, I want to prioritise the introductio…

The Deputy will be aware that sentencing is a complex matter, but people want to see some consistency in sentencing. I want to see that as well. The mechanism by which we are seeking to achieve this was set out in the Judicial Council Act 2019, under which there is a procedure for the Judiciary to set out sentencing guidelines. I look forward to receiving those sentencing guidelines from the Judiciary, as they will improve consistency throughout the course of imposing sentences. We also need to be aware that concur…

I am aware of the tragic case of Joe Drennan. I am not going to talk about it, as I am sure the Deputy can appreciate. The matter is being appealed by the DPP to the Court of Appeal and it would be inappropriate for me to say anything in respect of it. I will speak in general terms about where multiple offences have been committed. Sentences imposed in response to multiple offences can be imposed concurrently, consecutively or a combination of both. Offences committed while on bail, in custody or while a suspended …

In general, there is consistency throughout the criminal justice process when it comes to the imposition of sentences. We do not hear about it because it does not give rise to public controversy but consistency is very important. That consistency will be increased and improved when we see judicial guidelines being put forward by the Judicial Council. However, we need to recognise that sometimes - and I am not speaking about any particular case - judges make mistakes and that is why we have the appeals structure tha…

I thank the Deputy for his question. The introduction of the new garda operating model, which has been rolled out in the Kilkenny-Carlow Garda division, will provide more front-line gardaí, increased Garda visibility and a wider range of policing services for people in Carlow and Kilkenny. It is important to emphasise this supports greater service delivery across the division through four functional areas, one of the most important being community engagement. This will allow for a greater, more consistent focus on …

I am interested in what the Deputy said about the reduction in numbers in Graiguenamanagh and other areas in Kilkenny. I will keep a close eye on this. When people are attested as members of An Garda Síochána, the Commissioner decides where they should be allocated. It is extremely important there is fair allocation throughout the country. It is not an operational matter for me and I cannot get involved in that but I hear what Deputy Cleere is saying loud and clear in respect of the need to get more new recruits in…

Garda properties are valuable resources. If we have them, we should use them for the benefit of the State or the benefit of the public in having a Garda presence there. I will raise that issue with my Department. The Deputy also made a very valid point about how the public want to see members of An Garda Síochána on the ground. We sometimes take that for granted. In many countries, communities do not want to see their police force on the ground. In Ireland, it is completely different. Every Deputy will say that whe…

It is important to remember we have civilianised much of the Garda force. At present, we have approximately 14,200 attested members of An Garda Síochána and approximately 3,500 civilian members who also work for the force. In recent years, as a result of civilianising or using civilians for tasks that were previously performed by the gardaí, we have managed to get approximately 900 gardaí back out on front-line duties. This is one mechanism but we need to be smart in terms of ensuring we can get more attested garda…

I thank the Deputy. I am conscious of the intake capacity into Templemore. As I said, if we can get 225 in each time, they would be very good numbers. Recently, we have been getting up to 201 and we are doing very well. The Deputy mentioned the numbers of attestations for 2023 and 2024. The 2023 number was higher than 2024. That was because in 2023 there were five attestations as opposed to four in 2024. Sometimes there can be an alteration in figures because of the fact there were more attestations in a particular…

I thank the Deputy. I will deal with the last point first. A recruitment and training capacity group has been established to support the achievement of increased recruitment in An Garda Síochána. The group is due to report to me in mid-2025. It is looking at a range of issues, including how to ensure that there is the training capacity to meet the Government's ambitious recruitment targets for the next five years. One of the issues that I know it will look at is whether or not an alternative training college or ins…

I thank Deputy Bennett. I welcome the fact that she has asked me a question related to domestic and gender-based violence. It is an extremely important issue. My predecessor did much excellent work in that area. It is an area that I am committed to working on as well. The Deputy will be aware that there have been a number of developments in Ireland in recent years in respect of combating domestic violence, for instance, a key priority for me and for Cuan is the development of domestic violence refuges throughout th…

We should look at where we are. At present, we have approximately 159 refuge units. As I said, another 54 are set to be either under construction or are due for refurbishment in 2025. This will bring the total number of units, including those under construction, to 213 by the end of the year. In addition to the development of refuge spaces, Cuan and I are committed to delivering additional safe homes which provide appropriate accommodation in certain circumstances. Cuan is concluding a review of domestic violence a…

My priority is to get a domestic violence refuge for the Cavan and Monaghan region as quickly as possible. The Deputy is looking for two. We need to get one in there, I would have thought, immediately and promptly. That is what I am working on. As stated, a lot of work is being done with key stakeholders in terms of progressing the development of an eight-unit refuge for the region that would include community-facing ancillary support services. I am committing to putting one refuge in the region. I note what Deputy…

We are trying to do it. We have a target of getting up to 280. That is the target I am seeking to achieve. I understand the concerns of Deputies Bennett and Carthy regarding the fact that there is not a refuge centre in Cavan-Monaghan. The Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth, has spoken to me about this. Deputy Brendan Smith has done so as well. This is something I want to expedite. I want to ensure that there is one there. Once we get one in the region, the Deputy can start advocating for others. However, I cann…

As the Deputy will be aware, the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act, which was enacted by the Houses of the Oireachtas last year, is yet to be commenced. I intend to commence it shortly. The new Act continues to honour Ireland’s commitments under the existing 2002 agreement between the Irish and British Governments on police co-operation. When the Act is commenced, section 94 will allow the Garda Commissioner, at the request of the Chief Constable of the PSNI, to appoint a member of the PSNI as a member of…

The Deputy makes a valid point. We are at a stage where we are trying to recruit as many members into An Garda Síochána as we can. The Deputy has indicated that there are serving PSNI officers living in this jurisdiction who would like to become members of An Garda Síochána. At present, their difficulty is that in order to become a member of An Garda Síochána through the standard route, they would have to go to Templemore. That would involve them having to give up their jobs in the PSNI, which would be extremely di…