Senator Martin Conway

The need for the Minister for Justice Defence and Equality to make a statement on his plans for the future of the Garda Reserve in particular whether its function could be extended to providing crime prevention advice to the elderly living alone.

Speech by Minister John Perry TD, on behalf of Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence Alan Shatter TD

I would like to thank the Senator for raising this important matter.

As the Senator will be aware, the Garda Reserve was established to enhance the links between the Garda Síochána and local communities through the deployment of locally recruited volunteers who operate in support of full-time colleagues.  There are currently 1,164 attested Reserve Gardaí with a further 99 at various stages of training.  Garda Reserve members make a real and tangible contribution to the policing right across the country and I am fully supportive of its continued development.  In this regard, recruitment to the Reserve and training of new Reserve members is ongoing.

Under section 15 (5) of the Garda Síochána Act, the range of powers and duties of a member of the Garda Reserve is a matter for the Garda Commissioner to determine. The Garda Commissioner initially determined that the duties of a Garda reserve member shall include the following:-

• Station duty, other than the care and custody of prisoners.
• Assistant to the station orderly.
• Communications room duty, to include monitoring CCTV.
• Foot patrol, accompanied by a member of the full-time Garda service.
• Static security duty.
• Road Traffic checkpoint duties, accompanied by a full time member.
• Duty at the outer cordon of major events such as festivals and major sporting events.
• Assisting in the event of accidents, fires and major emergencies.
• Giving evidence in court.          
• Community / Neighbourhood Policing.

The Garda Commissioner carried out an internal review of the Reserve and has decided to extend their powers and functions of Garda Reserve Members to such areas as domestic violence, child protection, conflict resolution, Garda policy on bullying and harassment, out of vehicle safety training (OVST), first aid and ample probe training. Continuous Professional Development courses are also to be provided annually to Garda Reserves on a Divisional basis.  Training in these new areas commenced in 2012, and almost all of the Reserve members have now been trained in the new powers.  The following provisions were also introduced:

• The provision of a Mentor/Tutor Garda for the Garda Reserve.
• Formal appraisal system.
• All Garda Reserves to be issued with TETRA radios when going on duty.
• Powers under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Acts 1994 to 2011, and Section 41 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 as amended, in relation to the seizure of vehicles.
• Garda Reserves will issue Fixed Charged Penalty Notices and serve summonses.
• The Garda Reserves’ role and various functions will be communicated to full-time members through mediums such as promotion courses, the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme and the Garda Portal.
• Exit interviews will be conducted.

It is not intended to further extend the powers of Garda Reserves at this time.   It must be borne in mind that the Reserves are a part-time element of the force, and while a great asset to the Gardaí cannot be expected to perform the same roles as fully trained members.

Garda Reserves like any member of An Garda Síochána interact and engage with communities and provide crime prevention advice.

An Garda Síochána’s Older People Strategy advocates the following actions:

1. The development and maintenance of effective communication links between An Garda Síochána and older people
2. The delivery of a timely and effective proactive response by An Garda Síochána for older people
3. Actions to increase trust and confidence by lessening the fear of crime amongst older people
4. Indicators to determine and respond to the needs and expectations of older people on an ongoing basis.

These actions are achieved through various community policing initiatives and crime prevention programmes. Community Policing is the underpinning philosophy and ethos through which An Garda Síochána delivers a service to the community. All Gardaí, including reserve Gardaí, are responsible for delivering a community policing service and to deliver Garda functions outlined under section 7(1) of the Garda Síochána Act, 2005.

In conclusion, I can assure the Senator that the Government is and will continue to be, fully committed to the Garda Reserve and indeed recruitment is ongoing to further strengthen and reinforce the Reserve. 

ENDS