The Daily Star Ireland
The Minister for Justice has announced plans to introduce new legislation aimed at reducing the amount of time gardaí spend in courtrooms, allowing officers to spend more time policing communities. The proposed changes will introduce greater use of digital technology and remote hearings, particularly at district court level, to streamline court processes and cut down on unnecessary in-person appearances by gardaí.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony for 149 new garda recruits at the Garda College in Templemore, the minister highlighted that officers are often tied up in court for uncontested or straightforward cases when they could be better deployed on the streets. In particular, he said there was no need for so many officers attending court sessions in cases like breaches of bail conditions, where obtaining a bench warrant could be handled more efficiently.
The planned Miscellaneous Provisions Bill will lay the groundwork for the remote hearing of various criminal proceedings, helping to significantly reduce the time and resources spent transporting individuals in custody and having gardaí physically present for routine matters.
The legislation will also address how documents like bench warrants and charge sheets are handled, replacing the current system that requires paper copies to be physically delivered to the courts. Instead, digital versions will be introduced, further streamlining the process and freeing up officers to focus on frontline duties.
Recruitment, Technology, and Garda Deployment
The minister expressed confidence that the Government remains on track to meet its target of recruiting 1,000 new gardaí by the end of the year. However, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris clarified that due to capacity limits at the Garda College, only 800 new recruits can be trained within that timeframe, leaving a potential shortfall of 200. Currently, an additional 285 recruits are in various stages of training at Templemore.
Addressing calls from opposition parties to halt the use of Israeli technology Cellebrite, which was recently used to access crucial evidence in the case of Stephen Mooney — who was convicted of murdering his wife Anna after video and audio evidence was recovered from his phone — the commissioner firmly rejected those demands. He defended the use of Cellebrite, highlighting its value in securing evidence that supports convictions in serious cases.
The commissioner also responded to concerns over the distribution of new recruits, with 98 of the 149 graduates being assigned to Dublin. He stressed that this was not a case of overlooking rural areas, but part of a deliberate strategy to strengthen policing efforts in the capital, particularly in response to concerns about crime and public safety in Dublin’s city centre.
