Appearance by Minister for Justice and Equality Frances Fitzgerald T.D, before Committee on 19 November 2014
Proposed opt-in to Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a European agency for law enforcement training.
· CEPOL is an EU agency, established in 2005 with the mission to bring together senior police officers from police forces in Europe - essentially to support the development of a network - and to encourage cross-border co-operation in public security, law and order and the fight against crime, by organising training activities and research. Ireland participates in the existing Council decision on CEPOL, and An Garda Síochána is an active contributor to and participant in the activities of the agency.
· CEPOL is a virtual college and organises between 80-100 courses, seminars, on-line webinars and conferences a year on key topics relevant to all police forces in Europe. The implementation of the activities is organised by National Course Managers and normally take place in the National Police Training Colleges of the EU Member States. CEPOL's operating budget for 2013 was €8.45 million. The budget is spread over three pillars:
1. Staffing
2. Expenditure related to infrastructure, such as running costs
3. Operational costs.
· The CEPOL secretariat is comprised of 34 full time staff based in Budapest. CEPOL was based in Bramshill in England but relocated from September 2014 to Budapest in Hungary on a temporary basis, until a long-term solution for the future of the Agency is found. The JHA Council of Ministers voted to move the seat to Hungary in October 2013.
· CEPOL provides a cost effective means of up-skilling members of An Garda Síochána in critical policing areas in times of restricted budgets. It provides a diversity of training courses for police officers in areas where they may not have a national skill base (e.g. dismantling illicit laboratories). It provides a European/international context for understanding crime, which is key in an increasingly transnational crime environment. CEPOL training courses involve participants from many European jurisdictions. This provides opportunities to network and build professional contacts which are invaluable as Member States operate in an increasing transnational context. CEPOL courses also provide opportunities to examine best practice in other European jurisdictions thus providing a useful resource for developing policy development at home.
· CEPOL provides accommodation, flights and meals under the terms of a grant agreement system. This allows members of An Garda Síochána to attend training courses in other European countries without incurring these costs. In 2014 forty-seven (47) CEPOL courses were attended by members of An Garda Síochána including such varied issues as cybercrime, urban violence and trafficking in human beings. The courses are reflective of the diverse range of policing topics facilitated by CEPOL which are not part of the normal training provided in police colleges.
· CEPOL provides senior police officers and experts with the opportunity to take part in bilateral exchanges with colleagues from other Member State or candidate country. All topics covered by the Exchange Programme have been identified by CEPOL as priority areas and most have a European or cross-border dimension. In 2014, there were eleven priority areas: EU Policy Cycle instruments and priorities, other organised crime, counter-terrorism, economic crime, law enforcement techniques, EU cooperation, management, fundamental rights, crime prevention, learning and training as well as research and science. In 2014 five (5) members of An Garda Síochána took part in bilateral exchanges.
· Each year Member States are invited to apply for a grant agreement to facilitate the hosting of various policing training courses. Each year the Garda College applies for a number of courses and when successful in their application hosts the courses in the Garda College.
· Successful applicant countries are obliged to contribute 5% to each CEPOL course. The contribution is quantified through the number of hours that the organisers spend in the planning, developing and organising of courses. In Ireland’s case, because these calculated hours, which are worked in the CEPOL office in the Garda College, exceed the 5% contribution, it means that we do not have to contribute directly towards the cost of attending the courses.
· The Garda College has been involved in the running of CEPOL Courses since the establishment of the Agency. The Senior Management Programme (TOPSPOC) has been hosted by the College in the last number of years. This is a flagship CEPOL course. Due to the expertise that has been developed in the Garda College, it was invited to take part in the hosting of this programme. It is especially dedicated to facilitating the strategic, professional and personal development of top senior police officers from the Member States, associated countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), Interpol, Europol and Frontex. The programme lasts for a full year and is organized in four (4) one week modules in four (4) different Member States. . The Garda College will host the final Module of this Programme from 1st to 6th December, 2014. Twenty eight (28) Member States will be attending as well as four delegates from Europol and Associated Countries.
· As a result of the reduced number of CEPOL courses there is competition between Member States for approximately seventy courses (70) each year. It is hoped that Ireland will host two courses of three weeks duration in 2015.
· The Commission has now produced a proposal for a Regulation on CEPOL with a view to enhancing its operational mandate and reforming its governance in line with general principles laid down in the Lisbon treaty. The general aim of this proposal is "to improve EU security through the implementation, by CEPOL, of a new training approach for EU law enforcement officers, consistent with evolving priorities for operational law enforcement co-operation".
· The proposal confers two main tasks on CEPOL. The first is delivering relevant EU level training and exchanges and the second is co-ordinating the implementation of the Law Enforcement Training Scheme (LETS) by conducting strategic training needs assessments and ensuring a common quality framework for law enforcement training.
· The proposal also introduces certain reforms in the governance of CEPOL in line with the principles laid down in the Common Approach on EU decentralised agencies and I support these reforms.
· I am recommending that Ireland should exercise its discretion to opt-in to this measure, which aims to improve EU security through the implementation, by CEPOL, of a new training approach for EU law enforcement officers.
· There are no difficulties with or significant implications of the Regulation from an Irish perspective
· I recommend the matter to the Committee.
ENDS