Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Mar atá a fhios againn uilig sa Teach seo, chímid go bhfuil líon na ngardaí ag titim anois bliain i ndiaidh bliana agus ag an am céanna an méid nach bhfuil á dhéanamh ag an Rialtas i leith an ama seo. Chímid nach mbaintear na spriocanna earcaíochta atá ag an Rialtas amach bliain i ndiaidh bliana agus anois tá aighneas tionsclaíoch fógartha ag An Garda Síochána agus níl an tAire le feiceáil ó thaobh seo a réiteach.

I will take the opportunity to welcome the seizure of a substantial drugs cargo on Tuesday and commend the Defence Forces personnel, gardaí and customs officers involved. The seizure represents a very significant blow to international crime and to the criminal gangs that heap misery on our communities.

It is a timely reminder of how crucial it is that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs to tackle 21st century crime. It is also a reminder to all of us how crucial the gardaí are in keeping communities safe. Gardaí do difficult, brave work every day to protect our communities and keep them safe. Too often, however, they feel they are being let down or abandoned by a Government that has totally failed to provide them with the leadership and investment they deserve. Unfortunately, under the Tánaiste's watch and particularly under Fine Gael's watch, morale in the Garda is at an all-time low. Garda numbers are falling as gardaí leave the force. We see that year after year. Targets for new recruits are missed time and again as people do not see a career in the Garda as an option worth pursuing anymore, and specialised units are being disbanded. The likes of burglary and domestic violence units being disbanded in Limerick and Dublin is a cause of great concern.

We just passed the fifth anniversary of the publication of the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, and it is a sad state of affairs that many of the recommendations contained in this report still remain unimplemented. It is no wonder that crime levels are on the increase. Communities deserve better. They deserve to feel safe and protected. They deserve to know that if they need help, the Garda will be there for them. Instead, people feel unsafe in their own homes and communities. After 12 years of Fine Gael justice Minister after justice Minister, the Garda is in crisis and the communities are less safe than ever. Fine Gael's soft-touch approach to policing has pushed the Garda to breaking point and ordinary communities are forced to pay the price of Government failure. This is a crisis, and we do not need any more vague promises from Government or more photo opportunities or glossy announcements that amount to nothing. Government needs to get to grips with crime and it needs to do it now.

Sinn Féin has outlined its plan to tackle crime. We need to fix this crisis in crime and policing by commencing the biggest Garda recruitment drive in the history of the State and by ensuring that we have the conditions to retain current gardaí. We need a retention task force to report back in a number of weeks. We need to move gardaí away from non-core duties. We need to publish the Garda Reserve regulations to allow recruitment to resume, and we need to increase Garda recruitment by increasing the training allowance and reviewing the recruitment restrictions. None of this has been done by Government, however.

Now, we have the possibility of an industrial dispute that is escalating. The Minister for Justice needs to be present. Her hands-off approach is not working. We have to ask the question, as many people are, what is the Minister doing to ensure the proposed action by the Garda does not go ahead and that the issues at the centre of this are resolved? As I said, the hands-off approach by the Minister for Justice is not working. It is incomprehensible that she would allow this to get to the stage where the gardaí have to go on strike. When will the Government end the scandal of their soft-touch approach to policing so that communities can feel safe and protected?

I welcome the Deputy raising the issue. Yesterday's drugs seizure and the operation over the last number of days reveals more than anything that there is no soft-touch approach in respect of crime in this country and particularly in respect of drug trafficking cartels. What we witnessed were very high standards and very high professionalism being demonstrated by An Garda Síochána, the Air Corps, the Naval Service and the Army Ranger Wing, working co-operatively and collaboratively in a joint task force. It was the largest haul ever in the history of the State. It was the first time ever that we deployed the Army Ranger Wing in such an action, as we did this week. Our intelligence services worked with European Union member states and agencies across the world to combine intelligence, and very effective and professional actions resulted in the seizure of very significant drugs. That represents the commitment of the State.

I applaud the bravery of An Garda Síochána in the conduct of its daily tasks. I applaud the bravery of the Air Corps pilots' precision piloting and, indeed, that of the Army Ranger Wing and our Naval Service. It illustrates that they are very often in harm's way in upholding law and order and taking on and dealing with crime barons.

The Deputy would have to acknowledge the very significant inroads made in the north of the city in the last number of years in respect of some of the larger criminal gangs, with very significant numbers of criminals being put behind bars and the break-up of those gangs, many of whose members had to leave the country. That is not evidence of a soft touch by Government in respect of these criminal gangs or in terms of crime. We will always remain tough on criminals as they ply their trade, but we will also work very strongly in communities in terms of supporting them through proper community-based policing and in supporting community organisations on a broader range of issues that arise.

Approximately €2 billion has been allocated to An Garda Síochána this year. That is unprecedented. It will allow for ongoing recruitment of new gardaí and Garda staff. At the end of July 2023, there were 13,943 Garda members across the country. That is an increase over previous years, although there was a problem during Covid, as we know, in terms of Templemore, training and so on. That is now recovering in terms of the number of trainees. Numbers in Templemore continue to increase now with attestations every three months. Some 135 trainees entered the training college in February and another 154 entered in May. Another class of 174 trainees, the largest since Covid, entered the college at the end of July, continuing to build momentum and recruitment. There are approximately 470 trainees now in active training. Two more classes are due into Templemore in October. We are, therefore, on track to having between 700 and 800 new recruits into the college in 2023.

The issue around the Garda roster that was introduced by the Commissioner is clearly an issue that has caused considerable unrest and concern within the ranks of An Garda Síochána. The Deputy mentioned the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. It recommended changes to rosters and so on but in my view, these issues are best resolved with the industrial relations mechanisms. That is where they should be resolved because it is understood that there are legitimate and genuine concerns. I would respectfully suggest that the way to resolve it is through the industrial relations machinery.

I acknowledged the work the Garda does in our communities keeping people and our communities safe, and particularly in regard to the operation in the south during the week. However, Government needs to support that. The facts are very clear. Since this Government has been in office, every single year, there has been a reduction in the number of gardaí in this State.

The Tánaiste talked about the number of people who are going through training and attestation, but he did not say that the numbers leaving the Garda are actually higher than the numbers coming through. Every year, the situation is getting worse. We have more people either retiring or leaving. The number resigning is at an all-time high as a result of issues with morale within the Garda. The Tánaiste spoke about the commission's recommendations; they are five years old. Many of the recommendations are not in place. There are major issues here and the Government has not supported or provided the necessary tools for the Garda.

The reality, as we see from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, data, is that crime is on the increase and communities feel less safe than they did before. The Government needs to recognise that 12 years of Fine Gael Ministers for Justice has resulted in the situation we are in now. We had 241 fewer gardaí in June than we did at the start of the year.

I thank the Deputy.

These are the facts.

Go raibh maith agat. Táimid thar am, a Theachta.

Every single year since the Tánaiste has been a Minister in this Government, there have been fewer gardaí.

I call the Tánaiste to respond.

What is the Tánaiste going to do? The talks need to go ahead and it is hoped we will get a resolution.

The Deputy is way over his time.

What is the Government going to do to support the work of the Garda by increasing numbers and by moving members of the force off non-core duties?

Please, Deputy, we are way over time.

Hear, hear.

The Government is investing in An Garda Síochána and will invest in the force. The Deputy knows well that the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted the recruitment processes. We all know this. This was a significant challenge in terms of Templemore and so forth, but this aspect has recovered and is recovering. The numbers coming into the college now are increasing, although, because we have full employment in the economy, it has been a challenging time for all State services in terms of recruitment. This has been the case not just for the Garda but also for the Naval Service, the Army and the Air Corps, and more generally across all uniformed services.

We know this. The population is increasing, the number of people coming in to work in Ireland from the European Union is increasing and the number of work permits is increasing. All of this is evidence of and a challenge concerning having got to a position of full employment in an economy that, post-Covid-19, has proven to be robust. We will invest, and continue to invest in, resourcing An Garda Síochána, on the equipment front and in terms of facilities and personnel. It is important that we do this and we are committed to doing it. I agree with the Deputy that the industrial relations machinery is the basis and the mechanism to resolve the existing issues around the roster.