Speech by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee at AGSI Annual Conference

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Chairperson, Deputy General Secretary, Sergeants and Inspectors.

Thank you for the invitation to attend your annual conference.

I am grateful for the chance to engage with you as you gather for such an important few days.

I think we would all agree on the importance of keeping this and other avenues of engagement open… so that we can discuss both opportunities, and of course, matters of concern.

For my part, when there are matters of concern to you, I will always want to see resolutions which, while serving the public, especially the most vulnerable, also support the health and well-being of members of An Garda Síochána.

So thank you to all those involved in the rosters discussions. I know that you have engaged and progressed the talks towards agreement. And given how important and impactful rosters are, I hope a fully agreed solution can be reached in the near future.

I also welcome that a new Public Sector Pay Agreement has been negotiated and I hope that your members will be able to give the agreement due consideration over the coming weeks.

I hope we can continue to make progress on other issues, such as the rate of Travel and Subsistence paid to members. I have raised it with Minister Donohoe and I am glad that there has been an immediate increase in the overnight rate paid, accompanied by a time bound review.

I hope you are happy with the increase in the mandatory retirement age for Garda members from 60 to 62. Your association has been calling for it. And given that it reflects the reality that many people can and want to work for longer, I hope it will provide certainty for you and your colleagues as you make your plans for your futures.

There are other areas meanwhile where we are still seeking to make progress. I am raising directly with the Department of Public Expenditure and the relevant Ministers the need to introduce necessary measures in relation to the supplementary pension. It is important to me, and for your members, that we bring this matter to a conclusion and I am strongly making that case.

An Garda Síochána is a world-class police service that we are all incredibly proud of. I want to express my sincere gratitude for that.

Of course, as in other sectors, YOUR work, managerial work, can often be ‘unseen’. I want you to know that, as Minister, I not only see the work that you do, I am also committed to making sure you have the resources you need to carry out that work effectively, efficiently and safely.

That is why my department continues to introduce and amend robust and timely legislation that recognises the changing criminal landscape.

And so we have doubled the maximum sentence for assault causing harm from 5 years to 10 years and increased the maximum sentence for conspiracy to murder from 10 years to life imprisonment.

In the coming months, you will have new legislation strengthening the Criminal Assets Bureau. Already it has shown, time and time again, that crime doesn’t pay. This legislation will go further…. ensuring that where a court determines property is the proceeds of crime, immediate steps can be taken to deprive the holder of the asset. And I will reduce the time period before the state can benefit from that asset to 2 years.

We are making progress in other areas too, introducing new offences, such as child grooming, stalking and non-fatal strangulation… and because those who offend in these and other ways must be dealt with, we are also ensuring we will have a prison estate big enough to hold those causing damage and misery in our communities. So our prison estate is growing for the first time in a decade. Hundreds of new prison places are being created.

Change and Reform… I know these are words which have been much used in relation to policing for some time now. Indeed they will be a recurring theme in this address. But as I acknowledge your role in helping the organisation comes to grips with change and reform, I would like to address the benefits they are about to bring to one particular area.

Immigration does and must involve policing. But not in all its aspects.

Many immigration issues are in fact administrative, and quite separate from policing. This means that police involvement in them has the capacity to detract from where focus should be.

So because I am determined to take any and all opportunities to civilianise administrative Immigration functions in An Garda Siochana, I am announcing today a commitment to the full Civilianisation of registration functions over the coming year.

Nationwide, over 100 Gardaí are assigned to immigration duties.

However, with effect from 8 April, registration functions for Meath, Kildare and Wicklow, will transfer from An Garda Síochána to the department.

The nationwide transfer of registration functions will follow and will be substantially completed in the next 12 months.

This is a major step forward. It will release valuable Garda hours to focus on operational and enforcement matters, such as deportations and investigations. And given our expectation that the number of deportation orders issued will increase significantly this year, this freeing up of Garda resources will be particularly important.

The new process will work better for customers too with individuals in Meath, Kildare and Wicklow able to renew their immigration permissions online. And that, I hope, will be seen as another positive element in the ongoing programme of reforms to civilianise immigration functions.

These reforms have already of course included the transfer to the department of front line immigration checks at Dublin Airport and the registration of immigration permissions for individuals residing in Dublin, while at the start of this year, the department’s Border Management Unit (BMU) also assumed responsibility for carrying out preliminary international protection interviews at Dublin Airport.

All these changes, which are in line with the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Policing report, have the same purpose…. To allow officers from the Garda National Immigration Bureau focus on operations and investigations, as we grapple with the problem of irregular entry to the State.

This country needs more Gardaí. I think we all know that. And it is why Garda recruitment is such a big priority for me.

Happily though, the current news on recruitment is positive and in 2023 we saw it gain real momentum with 388 new Gardaí attesting and 746 trainees entering Templemore.

As I have said before, our goal is to get to 15,000 Gardaí and beyond. I do believe we will achieve those numbers and the very strong interest in the most recent recruitment campaigns bodes well.

As I’m sure you know, almost 6,400 people applied - that was a very large increase on the just under 5,000 who applied in 2023.

No doubt the changes we made to the maximum recruitment age and to the training allowance helped. They show we are clearly opening up policing as a career option to a new group of people who will bring a range of different life and career experiences to the table. As Sergeants and Inspectors, you will of course be the people to bring on these new recruits when they finish their training. I hope that with many of them being older and more experienced they will bring additional skills to your teams, and I hope you find the change helps you as managers.

The job they are taking on will of course be challenging. But with unprecedented funding recently allocated for equipment and wellbeing initiatives, I know the new recruits will be well supported by you as they get to grips with their roles.

It has never been easy to do the job you do.

However in the last year or two, we have definitely seen some extra challenges.

Insidious behaviours have been creeping in – both online and in person. And the whole country has been sickened by the scenes in Dublin in November and by the recent arson attacks around the country.

I want to commend you for your leadership and professionalism in investigating these incidents while also reassuring the public that, serious as they are, these incidents are still rare.

In this context it is important to say clearly that while Immigration has been good for this country, we have seen unprecedented numbers arriving in recent years, due to the war in Ukraine and conflicts elsewhere. My government colleagues and I do appreciate that this has meant added pressure on you and your teams, as well as on ancillary services around the country.

I want to assure you that there is a huge amount of work being done to relieve those pressures. And this government will not be found wanting when it comes to providing the support you need to face them and also to protect yourselves.

One way in which this protection will definitely be increased is through your use of bodycams.

To me, their rollout is key - key to protecting front line Gardaí, key to assisting you in policing protests, and key also to modernising policing in general.

My priority is to see Bodycams on Gardaí in Dublin City Centre, in Waterford and in Limerick and I am working with the Commissioner to make sure that will become a reality before the Summer.

You are probably aware that the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Act which was signed into law last December allows for their introduction.

And you might also be aware that officials in my department are working on a draft amending Bill to provide for biometric identification using facial images.

The time for facial recognition technology has come. We need to declare over the days of Gardaí trawling through hours of footage, using up time and resources, delaying arrests and prosecutions.

So I am delighted to be able to tell you that the drafting of this Facial Recognition Technology Bill is going well, and I also want to announce that following pre-legislative scrutiny several additional offences will now be added.

Amongst them will be offences relating to child sexual abuse, child kidnapping or abduction, as well as drug and human trafficking.

And also included is a provision which will be of particular relevance, and I hope help, to you…

This Bill is going to ensure that facial technology can be used where a member of An Garda Síochána, or any other peace officer, is assaulted under section 19. You will recall I’m sure that last year, the government increased the maximum sentence for assaulting a member of An Garda Síochána from 7 years to 12 years. The inclusion of such an assault into the list of offences for which facial recognition can be used, provides, I hope, further reassurance that we are doing all we can to keep you safe, as you go about your vital work, keeping US safe.

We will of course include all appropriate safeguards in the legislation, but as we do that, we make no apology for doing everything we can to help Gardaí to investigate, detect, identify and prosecute those involved in serious crime and so I want to assure you that I am working with the Attorney General to expedite the publication of this Bill.

Of course facial recognition is not the only technological advance we need to make in order to help you fight crime. Given that those who are committing some of the most serious crimes are using the digital world to escape detection, it is essential that we have a digital police force in a digital world, so we are also updating the powers available to security and law enforcement services to lawfully access communications. This will ensure these important powers are fit for purpose in dealing with online threats and criminal activity. You need these powers and technologies. Policing services across the world have already gained significant benefits from their introduction. It’s time you had the same.

Earlier this year the Oireachtas passed the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024.

As I’m sure you know, it provides for a suite of new regulations which will replace the current Disciplinary ones. The regulations will distinguish between misconduct and performance management and I want to see that when they are agreed, they will establish a more efficient system - one which works for everyone, and which, crucially, ensures cases are resolved as quickly as possible.

Significant work, which includes upcoming and essential consultation with AGSI is ongoing on arrangements for the introduction of these important reforms.

And when they are introduced, I am confident that your members will be fully engaged in the new structures during what will be an important period of change for the organisation.

Also on the horizon of course, is the completion of the roll out of the New Operating Model.

The aim of this model is to further embed the ethos of community policing which I know has always been at the root of so much of your work.

The challenges of modern policing mean that we must move forward with specialist units. I acknowledge the worry that such specialisation may impact community policing. But I believe that as we continue to increase overall numbers, specialisation and community policing can work hand-in-glove, and both represent the best traditions of An Garda Síochána.

We have allowed for a higher number of Inspectors to join your ranks to reflect the needs of the New Operating Model and I hope you all, Sergeants and Inspectors, will continue to play a vital role in the promotion and implementation of this reform of the organisation.

I am very aware of the number of changes and reforms I have addressed here…. And I am very aware too of the challenges.

That is why this government has consistently sought to support the wellbeing of Garda members.

In Budget 2024, we provided €6 million for wellbeing initiatives, additional medical costs and over 2,500 units of body armour.

The organisation meanwhile has also introduced a range of measures to support front-line Gardaí. We have seen an increase in personal safety equipment and in the number of front-line supervisors, while there are also support systems in place to help Gardaí address issues of stress and mental health.

The benefits of reaching out for help are recognised the world over, and I really hope that these supports, which include an Employee Assistance Service as well as trauma counselling and peer support, will be used by those who need them.

And so, as I draw to a close, I do want to acknowledge that there have been many significant moments throughout your organisation’s history when Gardaí have been called upon to demonstrate dynamism and an ability to adapt to challenge and change.

And yes, challenge and change are upon us now, and the Sergeants and Inspectors in this room are the men and women who will face that challenge and drive that change.

Your work is where the rubber meets the road.

I want to acknowledge that and I want to thank you.

Thank you all, for your dedication and commitment to keeping the people of Ireland safe.

Thank you for inviting me to meet with you all today and for your continued engagement.

I wish you the very best for what I’m sure will be a very productive and informative few days.

And finally, to conclude, I want to pay tribute to General Secretary Antoinette Cunningham who will retire next week after an outstanding 33 years with An Garda Síochána and the AGSI.

She was the first female full-time official with a Garda representative association and I hope her legacy and successes encourage more women into leadership in the associations.

Inspector Cunningham has been steadfast in her staunch advocacy for Sergeants and Inspectors and I know you all join me in wishing her the very best in her next chapter.

Thank you.