Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 12 Dec 2023

In its over 40 years of operation, the civil legal aid scheme has been a significant and beneficial public service, providing legal aid and advice to people of limited means in civil disputes, including family law. However, since the scheme was set up Irish society has changed and the demands on the services have grown. In June 2022, the Minister for Justice, Deputy Helen McEntee, established the civil legal aid review group to review the current operation of the civil legal aid scheme and make recommendations for its future. The review group is chaired by former Chief Justice Frank Clarke and the membership is drawn from legal practitioners, academics, Department officials, those who work with marginalised groups, and representatives from the Legal Aid Board, which administers the statutory scheme.

The financial eligibility threshold for the civil legal aid scheme was last revised for income in 2006 and for capital assets in 2013. The current review will allow for an assessment of how flexible and responsive the scheme is to the needs of those it is intended to serve, including in relation to financial eligibility. As part of the review, the comprehensive multi-phased process of consultation has been conducted to ensure that as wide a range of views as possible is captured. The results of all elements of the consultation are now being carefully considered by the review group. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, looks forward to receiving its report when finalised and considering its recommendations. This matter will be dealt with as quickly as possible.

I am glad to hear about the review group but I am looking for a timescale. Every day I have people who come into my office who are over the financial threshold and they are not getting the assistance they need. The Chief Justice's working group this summer referenced that the budget for legal aid was around €50 million but there was a huge unmet legal need in family law and employment law and there are areas like disability that are not really being dealt with enough by the Legal Aid Board or independent law centres. I am particularly concerned about those who are fleeing domestic violence. Legal aid is supposed to be free for people who are facing domestic violence. It does not seem right that the people who need it are not getting it. Perhaps the Minister of State will come back to me on those points.

I assure the Deputy that the work of the civil legal aid review group is advancing following on from the progress report received in May. The scheme is important for those who face particular barriers in accessing justice. The group's recommendations will be vital to ensuring that those with the most acute needs get the support to resolve their legal disputes, as outlined by the Deputy. This is particularly important in relation to family justice. We know that the civil legal aid scheme seeks in particular to meet the needs of those with family law issues. Family mediation is also an important aspect of the landscape and one that the review group has been asked to examine as well.

I thank the Minister of State for that response but my issue is that the scheme is means tested. The allowance given to families does not cover all the needs that are there. The law is that the aid is not given to anyone with means of over €18,000 a year. I have had several cases of women whose earnings are barely over it and not by much. If one breaks down €18,000 per year, it works out about €350 per week, which is incredibly low enough. These women are not getting this aid. They might be just barely over €350 a week or they could be on €400 a week and they are told they will not get free legal aid. When the review is being done I ask that the Minister of State looks at the threshold. One lady came into my office recently and asked me if she should give up work. She said that if she gave up work she would get free legal aid and everything else she was entitled to get. I told her to keep working and that a review was going on and the Minister would look at it. We need to make sure the most vulnerable get this help, particularly if they are doing their best. They are trying to work and then they are not getting it.

As we acknowledge the growing complexity in maintaining law and order, the role of An Garda Síochána becomes even more crucial. We have learned there are plans to introduce new equipment and technology to aid our gardaí in their duties. It is clear that these advancements will undoubtedly boost their efficiency and effectiveness. Will the Minister provide us with more detail about these technologies and the impact they expect to have?

Over the last four budgets I have been focused on consistently ramping up and providing funding when it comes to equipment, uniform, vehicles and new types of technology for An Garda Síochána. I want to continue to ramp up that support so they can do even more. The budget for next year is €2.3 billion, an increase of 23% since 2020. This further allows for: the roll-out of the highest number of mobility devices ever, allowing all gardaí to conduct their tasks outside the station and not have to return to the station; the provision of more than 3,400 Garda vehicles, a 31% increase since 2015; major investment in new and refurbished stations; and importantly in the context of digital transformation we are trying to ensure an increase in the digital capital investment and IT, with €155 million allocated for that. The strategy, supported through the €155 million, reflects the recommendations in the Report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, and ensures that ICT will continue to support and transform An Garda Síochána’s capabilities.

The active mobility apps allow members to access their emails on the move, check a vehicle’s history and tax status and work more efficiently with local business and community groups. All Garda members now have mobile devices with real-time access to apps, eliminating a huge amount of paperwork and allowing gardaí to carry out their front-line duties more efficiently.

The Government has also invested in the purchase of a new Garda helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft. I understand that procurement of these is progressing well and they will become operational over the next 12 to 18 months. These major investments will support the air support unit in its important work combating criminal activity to protect the public. It is important we have the most up-to-date technology, including aircraft.

Following the riot in Dublin on 24 November, the Commissioner has consulted senior management, looking at the equipment routinely used in policing serious public order incidents, what equipment the Garda has and how it could be strengthened. This includes the deployment of tasers.

I thank the Minister for her response on this important issue and her hard work on increasing the budget allocated to An Garda Síochána. It is welcome. An issue for communities I represent concerns rural crime and An Garda Síochána's security and intelligence capabilities, referenced in the future of policing plan. What additional supports can we provide for counterintelligence efforts and measures against cybercrime? It is important we have measures in these areas. We saw recently in the riots in Dublin that counterintelligence, when mobs look to assemble, would enable us to act swiftly through a central intelligence agency to counteract their efforts.

More broadly, An Garda Síochána is moving to a digital structure, which did not exist previously. I acknowledge there has been a huge amount of change in a short time. The new computer-aided dispatch, CAD, system, GardaSAFE, is operational across all regions and is a new departure in the way gardaí respond to calls in which information has been taken and stored. This move is helpful and useful.

On rural crime, Operation Thor was launched in recent years to respond to burglaries. It uses intelligence-led Garda work to identify trends, patterns and statistics to respond effectively to criminals. It is important to have this type of technology. Through Operation Thor, there has been in recent years a significant reduction in burglaries in rural areas, particularly in the winter months between October and March.

Operation Táirge, launched yesterday to look at retail crime, will allow gardaí to use online resources to collate information and data, so when a person is arrested for theft and brought before the courts, it is not only that one case that an individual Garda member might have been dealing with that is brought to court but a number of incidents gathered using the technology now available. It is important we invest in information technology to give gardaí the ability to identify trends, gather data and use it to effectively and proactively police and respond to trends and crimes.

I welcome the expansion of areas the Minister did not mention, such as the Garda dog unit, the provision of tasers to the public order unit and the improved public order equipment in vehicles. These are important areas, along with the new legislation for the provision of body-worn cameras.

Facial recognition technology will be beneficial. Will there be a pilot scheme to assess its relevance or efficiency, given the sensitivity of the data involved? Will the Minister update the House on that? We need to tread carefully and conduct thorough research before implementing a widespread programme.

In relation to body-worn cameras, the legislation was signed by the President on 5 December and the Garda will be rolling out proof of concept in three areas of the country. That will be followed by a pilot later in the year where we will then have the tender process. Technology is important for gardaí to protect themselves, record scenes accurately and, when at the scene of a crime, record what happens immediately afterwards. If they are in the midst of an incident such as the riots we saw two weeks ago, they would be able to accurately reflect through the cameras what is happening.

The facial recognition technology, FRT, legislation was approved to go to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for drafting today. It will go to the committee for pre-legislative scrutiny and we will make sure any legislation brought forward around FRT is compliant with human rights, data protection and privacy rights. Just as there will be pilots for the body-worn cameras, we need to make sure any application of FRT is done in such a way that we can see how effective it is and whether any changes need to be made. That would include a pilot scheme as well. All of this is moving. It is positive and shows how technology, when monitored and put in place effectively, can support gardaí in their work and make sure they are as effective as possible in responding to crime.

As the Deputy will be aware, when the Departments are issuing visas and residence permits, it is not just the responsibility of my Department but also of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Both Departments work closely together to ensure that labour market migration arrangements are fair, efficient and responsive to the needs of our society and, more generally, our economy.

The Government agreed in principle last year that a single application procedure for employment permits and immigration permissions should be developed and it established an interdepartmental working group to develop an implementation plan for consideration by the Government. Over the course of the year, work has been under way to examine and reform the current system whereby separate applications have to be made for employment permits and immigration permissions. This reform is with a view to improving the overall user experience, enhancing Ireland’s competitiveness in attracting skilled migrant workers and aligning ourselves with EU standards. We often find, whether it is a chef applying to work in a restaurant or a doctor or nurse, that they first have to apply for a work permit and go through a different process. The checks are different through the Department of enterprise concerning the applicant's skills, the labour work test and the needs test. Separate from that is the justice work and the checks, which is more of a vetting process. Often people who have their work permit are surprised they have to go through the separate process. It is important we have a single process.

I understand a range of operational improvements will be made to assist applicants in the interim. These will be introduced over the next 18 months and will include streamlining fees, removing duplication of certain checks carried out by both Departments and reducing the number of documents required at immigration registration by pre-validating certain key documents. Over the medium term, these steps will be built on to develop a fully integrated single application process.

This is about putting everything on one system and making sure those applying for a job here do not have to go through separate channels. It is beneficial not just for the individual in question but also for the companies, particularly in sectors which cannot access workers here and have to go abroad. It opens up more options for them.

The Department of Justice is processing its side but there is a delay between the two Departments. What timescale are we talking about from start to finish, from the time of the application being submitted for the work permit and the end of the whole process of getting the visa? There still appears to be quite a delay.

Companies are running into difficulties on this matter. Then we still have people who, for instance, find that the delay is causing them to lose people they want to recruit in, especially people who are highly skilled and where there is a shortage of people with those skills. As a result, they are losing them to other countries.

What we have seen in recent months and years is a significant increase in the number of people applying for work visas or for reunification, and in the number of people applying for international protection. The number of Ukrainian people who are seeking assistance here has also continued to grow over the past number of years. That obviously puts pressure on a system. We try to make sure that any application is dealt with as quickly as possible from our side. Where somebody is going through a vetting process, that can take time and we cannot put a particular timeline on it.

In 2022, looking specifically at those looking for employment permits, the average processing time for type D employment - scientific and research visas, for example - was 18 calendar days, whereas type D employment and scientific visas in 2023 was 21 calendar days. That is just one example to compare where something has gone from 18 to 21 calendar days.

More broadly, we have significantly increased the number of people working in the visa sections in my Department. That is to respond to the increase on all fronts, as I have mentioned. That is why I think this process is so important, that one does not have people having to go through two separate processes, and where one is potentially elongated for whatever reason, that adds to the overall timeline. People can be lost, as they go elsewhere and look at different countries. That is why it is important from the point of view of our competitiveness in attracting skilled workers that we have a simple, short, effective process. It is one that should be online as well, so that it is paperless and people can apply no matter where they are in the world. Work is progressing and I hope to have a report on this early in the new year, and it means we can then start moving once we have the recommendations from the interdepartmental group.

The Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities, and a strengthened, well-resourced An Garda Síochána is central to this policy. While the Garda Commissioner is operationally responsible for the allocation of Garda resources, we engage regularly with him to ensure our gardaí have the resources they need.

The unprecedented allocation of in excess of €2.3 billion to An Garda Síochána for 2024 will allow for sustained recruitment of between 800 to 1,000 new Garda recruits in 2024. As of the end of October 2023, there were 428 Garda members assigned to the Kildare division, which is an increase of more than 12% since the end of December 2018, when there were 380 gardaí in the division. The current total includes 152 members assigned to the Kildare district, 110 assigned to the Leixlip district and 166 members assigned to the Naas district. Since 2015, 183 probationer gardaí have been assigned to the Kildare Garda division and that includes six so far in 2023. In addition, there are 32 Garda staff members assigned to the Kildare division. Garda staff provide vital administrative support and help free up Garda members to focus on front-line duties.

Roll-out by the Garda Commissioner of the new Garda operating model is continuing and meets a key recommendation of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. The model is designed to make changes to the structures of An Garda Síochána to provide for more front-line gardaí, increased Garda visibility and a wider range of policing services for people in their local area.

Coupled with the continued roll-out of the new operating model, which is in the process of being rolled out in counties Kildare and Carlow, I am confident that the Commissioner will have the resources and plans in place to continue to deliver on An Garda Síochána's mission of keeping people safe.

The reason I asked is that in Kildare, my constituents really want to know this. Kildare used to be the county with the lowest number of gardaí per head of population. We have now been passed out by Meath. Kildare is now the second worst. Communities need gardaí, and they need to see gardaí out and about.

Does the Minister of State have figures for how many gardaí in Kildare were deployed to Dublin on that awful Thursday night, 23 November? There is a real concern that new gardaí that do come to Kildare might be sent to Dublin as some kind of a sop in the hope that it will get the Minister for Justice, and indeed the Garda Commissioner, off the hook, while in Kildare we desperately need more gardaí. We need them to be visible. Only two of the Garda stations in north Kildare, Leixlip and Naas, are full-time stations, while Kilcock, Maynooth, Celbridge and Clane are all part-time stations. We really need to have enough gardaí in Kildare.

While I have no direct role in the assignment of gardaí or any Garda resource, I am assured by the Garda Commissioner that personnel assigned throughout the country, together with the overall policing arrangements and operational strategies, are continuously monitored and reviewed. Such monitoring ensures the optimum use is made of resources and the best possible policing service is provided to the general public.

With regard to the deployment of Garda personnel, a distribution model is used that takes into account all of the relevant factors, including population, crime trends and the policing needs of each individual division. The unprecedented budget of in excess of €2 billion in 2023 allows for the continued recruitment of gardaí and Garda staff, and we are seeing Garda recruits enter Templemore every 11 weeks. The number of gardaí has increased by more than 8% since 2015, as the numbers increase towards the target of 15,000. I have no doubt that the Garda Commissioner will ensure that Kildare has the number of gardaí that it requires.

I do not have any specific numbers regarding any gardaí who may have travelled to Dublin on that fateful Thursday.

I was in my constituency office in Naas that Thursday evening, and I could hear the sirens going off on the main street as gardaí headed towards Dublin. It is for this reason that I really want to talk to the Minister of State about what it is like for families of gardaí who were left unprotected that night at the riot. I know what it is like to be a member of a Garda family, and I have spoken previously about what it is like. My particular childhood memory was the night of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, and being worried because my dad was not home for tea that evening. He still was not home by the time we were all sent to bed that night.

My heart went out to families of gardaí who were watching those scenes on that night in November, and I am sure, with young children having phones, their mothers and fathers at home might have been trying to make sure they were not able to see those scenes. While they were out protecting us, there was nobody protecting them. Not the Minister, and not the Garda Commissioner. I have been contacted by retired gardaí who knew my dad and they still have family working in the service. The rank and file feels terribly undervalued. The numbers are not there. We need more gardaí.

I acknowledge the courage and bravery of gardaí who faced those riots on that Thursday, including those from Dublin and those who came from further afield responding to the call to support the gardaí in Dublin, who faced those violent thugs who sought to take advantage of a very difficult and challenging situation. We all acknowledge the bravery and courage of those gardaí who responded on that night. They should not have faced that type of thuggery and lawlessness that was attempted by a group of people who sought to take advantage of an horrific situation for their own personal benefit.

This question asks if any progress has been made with the British Government regarding the recommendation made by the Independent Reporting Commission in its fifth report, and its sixth report that was published very recently, "for an agreed formal process of Group Transition, involving direct engagement with paramilitary groups themselves, to bring about disbandment".

I thank the Deputy for this question. As he will be aware, as I am sure other colleagues are, the Independent Reporting Commission is the body established under the Fresh Start Agreement of 2015 to report on measures aimed at ending paramilitarism. The commission submitted its first report to the UK and Irish Governments back in 2018, and the sixth and most recent report on 5 December. Both the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I have welcomed the report of the commission, and I laid it before Cabinet last week.

The commission views the twin-track approach as key to tackling paramilitarism. This involves progress both through the policing and criminal justice response, and a response to the wider socioeconomic factors that exist in the communities where paramilitaries continue to operate. Coupled with this is an additional dimension that the Deputy has referred to, namely the consideration of undertaking a process of engagement directly with the paramilitary groups themselves, aimed at group transition with the end goal of disbandment.

One of the recommendations in the commission's fifth report is that the Governments consider appointing an independent person to engage with the groups on this transition. The Governments have discussed the analysis and recommendations of the IRC, including at the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference as recently as last month here in Dublin. Both sides acknowledge that additional steps are needed to definitively achieve the ending of paramilitarism. Both Governments agree that the IRC’s recommendation for the appointment of the independent person to engage with and report in detail on the question of the possible establishment of a formal process of comprehensive group transition has the potential to make a positive contribution. We will continue our joint work to consider this recommendation of the IRC. While a person has not been appointed, we are actively engaged in who that person might be, how that person would operate and then in putting forward potential proposals around a formal process of group transition. My Department remains committed to continued constructive engagement with the commission more broadly in respect of its work in 2024. As I outlined, the report deals not just with this particular recommendation but also the way in which we can engage proactively with communities, support them where there is a criminal element to the paramilitary groups still on the ground and where there is a need to invest in the socioeconomic issues impacting those communities.

I thank the Minister for her comprehensive answer. It is very useful. That recommendation is key in the report because if you can persuade people to move forward, it is an enduring way of creating a circumstance in which these groups would disband or would not operate. Will the Minister indicate whether the British Government is fully bought into this concept? Does she think progress can be made? There is a certain amount of urgency. When you are on a bicycle, if you stop going forward, you start wobbling and you will fall off. There is an element of that in this case. It is important that we continue to progress. It would be a bold step, which I accept. There are precedents for such bold steps in the past, which reaped rich dividends and talking has been more beneficial than anything else in bringing about a new dispensation.

I agree with the Deputy. This is an important recommendation which the Government and I will support. In my engagement with the British Government, it also supports it. It is about finding a mechanism by which everybody involved supports it fully. There are ongoing situations in Northern Ireland - there is no functioning Executive and there are a number of parties there. It is about making sure all parties that are potentially impacted, including communities, are in agreement on how we move forward. It is a bold move, as the Deputy said. It may not be something everybody will support but in the past we have seen something like this be successful. It adds to the other dimensions of work under way. There is a view from some that the organisations are only engaged in criminal activity. We need to look at all of the different elements and take a full view of what might work and be helpful, in particular trying to get the end goal of full disbandment. I support it, as does the Government. We will continue to work with the UK Government to that effect.

I agree that it is fair to say the different groups involved in paramilitarism on both sides of the community could have different characteristics, which we must recognise. That said, the IRC has been a responsible body and it has gone about its business quietly and efficiently. It operates in a coherent fashion, even though members come from very different perspectives. In my interaction with them, I found them to be a very impressive group of people who think deeply about this and make serious recommendations. I am not asking a question, I am hoping that we can progress this matter. I thank the Minister for her positive replies. Not every group may buy in but if any do, it will be worth the effort.

I agree. I have met the members of the Independent Reporting Commission several times. They have all been appointed for their own reasons and their experience. The way in which they have engaged with and in the community has been positive. They gained the trust of a lot of people, have been engaged and worked in a proactive and positive manner. Any of the recommendations, whether this or others, have been made through detailed consideration and active engagement with the communities on the ground, those most impacted by this issue. I support any recommendations they make and take them very seriously, as does the Government, including the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach. That is why I support this. We need to actively find a way to progress it.

Ba mhaith liom ceist na ngardaí agus an Ghaeilge a ardú leis an Aire Stáit. Táimid ag iarraidh a chinntiú go bhfuil Gaeilge líofa ag gardaí atá lonnaithe i stáisiúin Gaeltachta. I wish to raise the issue of Irish-speaking gardaí working in Gaeltacht regions. Will the Minister provide an assessment of how much progress has been made regarding the Garda's Irish-language strategy, published in 2022? Is her Department aware that there is a shortage of Irish-speaking gardaí currently working in County Donegal, which has the largest Gaeltacht area in the State?

I am committed to supporting An Garda Síochána in achieving their objectives through recruitment, Irish language development, awareness, promotion and engagement. The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including the allocation of resources, including Garda members, to a given division, district or station. An Garda Síochána issued a directive in 2018 to ensure that only members with the appropriate Irish-language skills would transfer to Gaeltacht stations, with a view to increasing the number of bilingual personnel in these stations. The Garda authorities are also committed to ensuring that a policing service is provided through the Irish-language medium in divisions with a Gaeltacht station as far as is possible in the overall context of providing a safe and effective policing service nationwide. I am advised that as of 6 December, 1,498 gardaí declared competency in Irish, of whom 90 were attached to the Donegal division. I am further advised that there are a number of initiatives in place to facilitate improvements in spoken Irish in the Donegal division, including attendance by gardaí at Gaeltacht courses, as recently as October 2023.

An Garda Síochána remains committed to the Irish language. A new Irish language strategy for 2022 to 2025 was published in March 2022. The strategy aims to strengthen Irish-language services within An Garda Síochána and to ensure compliance with statutory language obligations. It includes a long-term goal of ensuring all Gaeltacht Garda stations are fully bilingual. As outlined in the strategy, An Garda Síochána will achieve its objectives through recruitment, Irish-language development, awareness, promotion and engagement. Studies in the Irish language will remain part of the policing BA delivered to all trainee gardaí in the Garda college, Templemore. As the Deputy will be aware, there is now a dedicated Irish-language recruitment stream as part of each Garda recruitment campaign. I am pleased to say that, to date, 24 candidates from the 2022 competition's Irish stream have been successful at interview stage.

I welcome that the Minister of State has put new information on the record. I submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister for Justice, which gave me the breakdown of every Garda station in the Gaeltacht regions, including County Donegal. It comprised more than 300 gardaí in County Donegal and suggested there were only nine with Gaelic as a native language or with proficiency. I subsequently questioned that because I know it is not true. I know many of the gardaí in my community who speak fluent Irish and many of them grew up there. When I submitted the question again, I was told that information was accurate but it was not. I ask that the record of the Dáil be corrected. Some media outlets were looking to cover the story but I said it was not accurate information. There are issues concerning Garda stations in County Donegal and the Irish language. County Donegal is vast and rural. In the directive from 2018 and the Garda third Irish-language strategy document from 2022, there was a commitment to the Gaeltacht regions. There are gardaí who are proficient in the Irish language, want to move to County Donegal and are outside of the Gaeltacht areas, yet there are vacancies in stations in the Gaeltacht. They have to be given tús áite or priority in this situation.

As stated, the transfer and stationing of An Garda Síochána is an operational matter for the Commissioner, but I will bring the Deputy's concerns to him. On recruitment, An Garda Síochána has brought in important measures to comply with its language obligations. These include the introduction of an Irish language stream in the recruitment process, whereby 10% of all spaces in each competition are reserved for fluent Irish speakers and the introduction of an allocation process for Gaeltacht stations, which included a revised system of assessment as recommended by An Coimisinéir Teanga. There is also an Irish language proficiency panel, which includes Irish speaking members who wish to serve in Gaeltacht areas. This provides opportunities for all personnel to improve their proficiency and the introduction of an Irish language interpretation service available to all personnel to allow for the facilitation of services through Irish if personnel with Irish are unavailable to assist.

Given Fine Gael's disastrous handling of policing and justice and the reduction in the number of gardaí we have also seen in County Donegal, whether you look at the figures from 2002, 2012 or the past three years the numbers for our county have gone down. On top of that more than one in ten is out sick. These are either people who have been assaulted or injured in the course of their duty, or are suffering from sickness themselves. There is a serious issue there. We then have the situation in Gaeltacht regions. People are entitled to be able to communicate and carry out their business with the gardaí in Irish. An Garda Síochána has recognised this with an aim for all Gaeltacht stations to be bilingual and all vacant posts are deemed Irish essential. As I said, that is not the scenario we currently have, in particular when there are vacancies, people are out sick, moved, transferred or promoted internally. Can this issue be raised with the Garda Commissioner? There are people looking to be transferred to Gaeltacht regions who have proficiency in the Irish language to make sure we fill the obligations of the State and the Constitution, which is that people in Gaeltacht regions should be able to conduct their business with An Garda Síochána in their native language.

As I said, it is an operational matter for the Commissioner, but I will bring the Deputy's concerns to the attention of the Commissioner. The new Irish Language Strategy 2022-2025 establishes a pathway and puts in strong mechanisms to ensure we have members of An Garda Síochána and a situation where the Irish language gets the recognition it deserves within An Garda Síochána. We all acknowledge we need more members of An Garda Síochána. That is why we have a recruitment campaign. Next year we expect to recruit an additional 1,000 members, so we will have more members available for the Commissioner to distribute across the country.

From the outset, 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 for An Garda Síochána and has the full support of Government. I believe the station would be a great addition, and that is the view of An Garda Síochána, not least because of the landmark location. It is in a high visibility area with a huge catchment. There is obviously significant housing development taking place. It is a key artery into the city and straddles two councils.

The Office of Public Works is leading on this project and there is ongoing and positive engagement between the OPW and Dublin City Council. This is in consultation with An Garda Síochána on the development of the site at Northern Cross. The OPW has undertaken a high level impact study of the site. There is a detailed brief of requirements being developed with An Garda Síochána. Under the national development plan, we are committed to investing significant levels of capital funding into An Garda Síochána to deliver a Garda station modernisation and refurbishment programme, to deliver strategic ICT and digitalisation projects, and to providing a modern, fit-for-purpose Garda fleet. This is a core part of the Government’s plan to build stronger, safer communities. The Northern Cross project is obviously a substantial Garda station including a new divisional headquarters for the Dublin metropolitan region north. It is one of the most significant Garda building investments in the National Development Plan 2021-2030 and I very much look forward to its development.

There is ongoing engagement between the OPW and Dublin City Council. This is the point we are at. I would like it to be moving quicker, but the support is there and the capital is there. It is a matter of making sure that whatever needs to be agreed between the OPW and Dublin City Council can happen as quickly as possible. My understanding is that there have been more positive soundings in the past weeks. An Garda Síochána is waiting to get a letter back to that effect.

It is positive that the process is ongoing. I do not need to remind the Minister that the population in that area of Dublin has exploded, with a huge number of additional housing units due to be constructed in the coming years. There are concerns in that general area that things are not knitting together as neatly as they should. A lot of community infrastructure has come after the fact, such as schools and other basic provision for people. A Garda station lends itself to the feeling of community, security and togetherness. Is it envisaged that other Garda stations may close to facilitate the opening of this divisional headquarters? It was suggested in a previous answer that Coolock Garda station may be subsumed into this new, larger divisional headquarters.

I am not aware that any final decision to that effect has been made. However, if it is a new divisional headquarters, which is a significant development in itself, there will have to be a review of the resources within the vicinity. That would include local Garda stations. The most important thing is to get this project moving as quickly as possible. As the Deputy said, this is an area of strategic importance. It is a community developing at a rapid pace. It straddles two local authority areas as well as being a main artery into the city centre. From a location and a community point of view, it is important there is an understanding of the community, the way in which it has expanded, and the needs of the wider community. Again, this is an ongoing discussion between the OPW and Dublin City Council, and I hope an agreement can be reached as soon as possible.

The development of this site and this divisional headquarters will be crucial to the faith local people will have in agencies of the State. A lot of them feel let down. The Minister mentioned there are two local authorities. There is any amount of campaigning that consistently goes on for basic provision of community infrastructure in the wider area of Clongriffin, Belmayne and Parkside. We are not serving them well if these things are not seen to be provided in a swift manner. I appreciate the support of Government. I do not get anything negative from the Minister's answer. The process has to be gone through. The Minister can appreciate that if you live there, have invested in that area or community or you took that risk to start something afresh with your family, you need the people in power to step up and provide the basic provisions that will provide security for your family and community.

I again reiterate my support for this project, and the full support of An Garda Síochána, the OPW and the wider community for this project. We are hopefully turning a corner in achieving progress and getting that across the line. I intend to have further meetings with An Garda Síochána more generally on capital projects in the new year. I hope we will have some progress made at that point. However, I think everybody involved in the development of this station needs to do everything they can to make sure it progresses. I know that is happening.

On the overall figures, I have a breakdown for community gardaí in the DMR region 2019 in comparison to 2023. This includes DMR east, DMR north, DMR central, DMR north central, DMR south, DMR south central and DMR west. The figures were 301 in 2019. They are 276 in 2023. While that is a decrease of 25, there has also been a decrease in our overall garda numbers since the pandemic due to the closure of the college to new recruits. We have seen a decrease but I am positive we are now in a situation where our garda numbers will start to increase.

Obviously, that will impact on all the various teams, including community teams. The figure of 276 is out of an overall figure of 3,719 Garda members.

Community policing is at the heart of An Garda Síochána and all gardaí have a role to play in it in the course of their duties. Community policing is fundamental to the new operating model that is currently being rolled across the country and has been fully commenced in ten Garda divisions. The new model will provide more front-line gardaí, increased Garda visibility and a wider range of policing services for people in their local area. It will divide service delivery within divisions into four functional areas, one of the most important being community engagement. This will allow for a greater and more consistent focus on community policing in all divisions. The Garda authorities have advised that a member of An Garda Síochána may be deemed to be a community garda where that person is allocated to a community policing team, CPT, and is responsible and accountable for applying a problem-solving approach to appropriate crime and policing quality-of-life issues in a specified geographic area through partnership and engagement.

I very much welcome the interactive map launched recently on the Garda website, which allows people to identify where the local community policing team is in their area. That system will continue to be developed in line with the continued roll-out of the new Garda operating model. The more Garda members we have, the more populated those areas will be. It is a really important element of the new operating model that people will be able to click in and see who is the dedicated policing community member in their area. More broadly, all Garda members perform community policing duties every day within their normal policing structures. The figures I have given are the ones we have to date.

The numbers are down by 25. I appreciate that, as the Minister said, there was a period in which gardaí were not being trained in Templemore because of the pandemic. I accept that but, still, we are not where we were. I believe, as I hope the Minister does, that there is no more important garda than a community garda. Most young people will get to know the local community garda and will look beyond the uniform. This is particularly important in communities that have an intergenerational issue with An Garda Síochána. We can pretend that issue is not there but it is there and it has been there for 100 years, with people not liking or trusting the force and having a fractious relationship with it. Sometimes, for the first time in people's family history, they may be able to look beyond the uniform. When that person is not available to them, because he or she is assigned to another duty or is stretched, it breaks down the ability of a school, for example, to interact with the council, youth services or other agencies. I really want to impress on the Minister the importance of community gardaí. Communities in Dublin are saying they are just not as available as they were and there is no feeling that their numbers will be enhanced in the future.

I fully agree with the Deputy that gardaí, and community gardaí in particular, are an integral part of the community, whether in a rural or urban setting. People feel safe and secure when they know they can pick up the telephone and contact a community garda. Engagement can take place at public meetings or by directly engaging with the garda on issues arising in the community. I recently attended the retirement function of a local Garda member who did exactly that type of work and was very well respected, known and loved within the community for that engagement over many years. People want that type of engagement. It is a key part of the new operating model and making sure everybody has access to the community member and local team.

There has been a roll-out of community policing teams across the country. While they are not as well populated as we would like at this time, they are being rolled out throughout the State. I can only point to my constituency, where a new community policing team has been put in place to cover a number of different towns in the south of the county. It has already made a major difference in people being able to pick up the telephone and communicate. The team members also support other Garda members in responding to their core duties. They have a dual function and role. As well as dealing directly with the community, they respond to crime and threats as they arise and support other gardaí in their roles, in the same way that other gardaí take on community policing roles as well as the dedicated duties to which they are assigned.

The pandemic period was profoundly damaging to young people. They lost their ability to socialise for the guts of two years and they spent a prolonged period online, where many were attracted to bad actors. Social cohesion has been put under massive strain during and since the pandemic. Schoolteachers, principals and community leaders are all saying that. It is much more difficult now to engage with young people and for them to trust the State because there are so many bad actors, as I call them, online, who are telling them not to trust authority, that is, the State, politicians or any agencies, and certainly not the Garda. The human face of An Garda Síochána is more important than it ever has been. I accept there was a difficulty in training gardaí in Templemore during the pandemic. I impress on the Minister again that there is no more important role than that of community gardaí. Individual community gardaí will stop more crime and solve more problems at the community level than any other section of Garda Síochána. I know the Minister appreciates that.

For the most part, for the community gardaí I have met in the various Dublin stations in recent weeks and months, much of their work was and still is going into schools and engaging with younger people where they can. They are getting back into that now after the Covid period, where it was not happening in the same way. That had a detrimental impact and will continue to have a detrimental impact in the years to come. Community gardaí are back in the schools working with younger people and engaging with the youth justice programmes. The Minister of State, Deputy Browne, has done a huge amount of work in investing in the youth justice programmes and making sure they are rolled out right across the country. Community gardaí engage as well with the various organisations that deal directly with young people. Certainly, the gardaí with whom I have engaged see that as an integral part of their work. It is really important to speak to young people at a young age. However, we have seen in recent weeks a complete lack of respect for An Garda Síochána on the part of some young people. Where that develops at an earlier stage, it is much harder to combat. Face-to-face interaction is absolutely vital in combatting it.

I will be very quick. Community policing is at the heart of good policing practices, particularly in urban settings. I cannot emphasise enough that a visible community policing presence can make a huge difference to the lives of our citizens. Will the Minister advise what plans she has to ensure there is a return to a community policing model that puts service to the community at the heart of the Garda ethos?

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. Community policing is at the heart of An Garda Síochána and all gardaí have a role to play in community policing in the course of carrying out their duties. Community policing is also fundamental to the new Garda operating model that is currently being rolled out in all divisions and has been fully commenced in ten. The new model will provide more front-line gardaí, increased Garda visibility and a wider range of policing services for people in their local area. It will divide service delivery within divisions into four functional areas, one of them being community engagement. This will allow for a greater focus on community policing in all divisions. Garda authorities have advised that a member of An Garda Síochána can be deemed to be a community garda where that member is allocated to a community policing team and is responsible and accountable for applying a problem-solving approach to appropriate crime and policing quality-of-life issues in a specified geographic area through partnership and engagement.

An Garda Síochána has launched a new interactive map on the Garda website that allows people to find the local CPT in their area. The map will continue to be developed in line with the continued roll-out of the new Garda operating model. While there are designated CPTs within An Garda Síochána, it is important to note that the number of gardaí assigned to those teams is not an accurate reflection of the number of gardaí carrying out community policing work on a daily basis around the country. Community policing teams strategically manage and lead the development, delivery and evaluation of the Garda community policing framework, and gardaí assigned to those teams are deemed to be community gardaí.

I thank the Minister of State. In the short time remaining, I want to refer to two projects in Limerick, on both of which I commend the Garda. One was an operation around scramblers, which took place on 24 and 25 October, with 46 vehicles seized. I encourage more of that to be done as scramblers have been a nightmare for people in Limerick for the past number of years. The situation had been allowed to get out of hand. I hope the relevant legislation will be robust and that other Garda authorities will do the same as was done in Limerick.

The other project is a Garda operation that will take place across Limerick city. I understand two additional gardaí will walk around the core city centre area targeting aggressive begging and, in particular, thefts in shops. There was a lack of such visibility for many years. I understand that is already having a significant impact on the community. After a difficult year for us all, I want to put on record that the gardaí in Limerick, a lot of whom I know well, are doing the best job they can with the resources they have.

A concern I wish to flag, however, is that at the most recent meeting of the JPC, the chief superintendent confirmed that he is short 30 staff for the Limerick area. I ask the Minister to look into that matter.

As regards scramblers, that change in the legislation was a recommendation of a sub-committee of my antisocial behaviour forum. I am glad the legislation was passed and is now operational.

The distribution of gardaí is an operational matter and for the Commissioner. I have no doubt he keeps Limerick very much to the fore, however.