Fine Gael is ensuring a safe and secure Ireland

Fine Gael has announced its plan for a safe and secure Ireland, which will strengthen An Garda Síochána, improve community safety, ensure there is zero tolerance of Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence, and bolster our security and defence capability.

Fine Gael has always supported An Garda Síochána in the fight against crime and will continue to do so. We will fund 6,000 new Garda recruits and increase the Garda reserve to 3,000 to further strengthen policing in Ireland. We will increase Garda visibility through deployment targets to guarantee a minimum number of Gardaí on patrol.

To help increase the number of Gardaí, we will open a second Garda training college and explore the use of regional Universities and Technological Universities for trainee Gardaí to complete the academic parts of the Garda training course. Fine Gael will also double the Garda training allowance, building on recent increases introduced by Minister McEntee.

Fine Gael will ensure all Gardaí on the beat are equipped with bodycams, following the initial roll out in Waterford, Limerick and Dublin City Centre by Minister McEntee, and will ensure a wider use of facial recognition technology, deploying it for serious crimes with a maximum sentence of five years or more and for missing persons cases, with strict safeguards. This will ensure that Gardaí do not have to spend months manually sifting through CCTV. Fine Gael will continue to invest to ensure we have a digital Garda Síochána to fight crime in a digital age. We will also introduce the use of live FRT in cases of terrorism, national security, and missing persons, with strict safeguards.

Fine Gael will introduce new search powers for digital devices, legislating to give Gardaí the authority to request passwords for electronic devices when serving a search warrant. We will also implement electronic tagging to monitor sex offenders effectively, which is crucial for enhancing community safety and preventing reoffending.

Fine Gael will enhance the use of Anti-Social Behaviour Warnings (ASBWs) and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) to tackle public order offences and anti-social behaviour. We will also extend the use of community sanctions, including increasing the use of community service orders.

Minister McEntee said: “People have a right to be safe, and to feel safe. Safe in their homes, in their workplaces and on our streets. A stronger Garda presence helps us achieve this and that’s why we are recommending radical options now for a step change to build on what we have achieved.”

Fine Gael will continue its work to dismantle organised crime and will strengthen the Criminal Assets Bureau and provide a new power to publish a list of tax defaulters

Fine Gael will increase sentences for child sexual abuse and will also ensure that domestic, sexual and gender based violence remains a number one priority for Government.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said: “I have prioritised domestic, sexual and gender based violence since the day I became Minister for Justice, trebling the funding for this area and establishing Cuan, the first DSGBV agency to coordinate the whole of Government approach to our zero tolerance strategy. Fine Gael has further ambition for this area. We will introduce specialised DSGBV judges, and we will revise the law concerning the disclosure of counselling notes to ensure that victims can access therapy without fearing that their private records will be used against them. We are also establishing dedicated family courts.”

Fine Gael will implement the largest prison building programme in the history of the state, delivering 1,500 new prison spaces in the existing prison estate and a new prison in Thornton Hall.

Fine Gael will also strengthen our security and defence capabilities. Updated laws for data retention and interception will include provisions for over-the-top and encrypted services to enhance our ability to combat security threats.

Minister of State with responsibility for EU Affairs & Defence, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said:

“We live in increasingly uncertain, unstable times and strengthening our security and defence capabilities has never been more important.  Though this is most obvious in Russia’s war in Ukraine, Russian aggression is also directed at all of Europe, including Ireland.

“We must be ready for cyber, hybrid and other threats that pose a real and growing danger to our national security and our physical infrastructure.

“That is why Fine Gael seeks to steadily increase Ireland’s Defence spending to approximately €3bn by 2033, moving towards having full-spectrum defence capabilities comparable to those of similar-sized European countries. We will also work closely with our international partners on Defence issues, because although Ireland is militarily neutral, we have never been politically neutral.

“Fine Gael will ensure that the men and women of our Defence Forces are better rewarded and recognised for their vital work as we build towards the target of 11,500 personnel. We will also ensure our Veterans and their families are better valued and looked after by the State.”

Fine Gael will also ensure a modern courts, legal and inquest system.

Fine Gael Seanad Justice spokesperson, Senator Barry Ward said: “Fine Gael will continue to prioritise victims, as Minister McEntee has done throughout her term as Minister for Justice. “Timely access to legal support is an important part of this. We will appoint 20 more judges in 2025, building on the 31 new judges already appointed.

“We will ensure a new power for the Minister to ask the Judicial Council to draw up sentencing guidelines for a particular crime area within a particular timeframe. We will establish an institute of judicial training and ensure a more efficient and effective justice system with a better resourced DPP and a modern, fit-for-purpose coronial system.”